CVE-2026-74673
Received Received - Intake

Information Leak in Linux Kernel evdev Subsystem

Publication date: 2026-08-22

Last updated on: 2026-08-22

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Input: evdev - fix information leak in evdev_pass_values() In evdev_pass_values(), the input_event structure is allocated on the kernel stack and populated field-by-field. However, it is never fully initialized. On architectures where struct input_event contains explicit or implicit padding (such as the 32-bit __pad field on SPARC64), these padding bytes are left uninitialized. When this event structure is subsequently passed to the client buffer and later copied to userspace, the uninitialized padding bytes leak kernel stack memory, potentially exposing sensitive information. Similar issues exist in __evdev_queue_syn_dropped and __pass_event. Fix this by explicitly zeroing the entire event structure with memset() before populating its fields. This ensures all padding bytes are cleared before the data crosses the security boundary.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-08-22
Last Modified
2026-08-22
Generated
2026-08-22
AI Q&A
2026-08-22
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-74673
EUVD
EUVD-2026-64360

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel *

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

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Executive Summary

This vulnerability is a kernel information leak in the Linux evdev subsystem. It occurs when uninitialized padding bytes in the input_event structure are copied to userspace, potentially exposing sensitive kernel memory. The issue arises because the structure is not fully zeroed before use on architectures with padding fields like SPARC64.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability is specific to the Linux kernel and cannot be directly detected via network scanning. To check if your system is affected, verify the kernel version and whether it includes the fix for CVE-2026-74673. Use commands like 'uname -a' to check the kernel version and 'grep' to inspect the kernel source for the memset fix in evdev_pass_values().

Impact Analysis

An attacker with local access could exploit this to read sensitive kernel memory, potentially revealing passwords, encryption keys, or other confidential data. This could lead to privilege escalation or further system compromise if combined with other vulnerabilities.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could violate compliance requirements that mandate protection of sensitive data, such as GDPR's data confidentiality principles or HIPAA's safeguards for protected health information. A successful exploit may result in unauthorized data exposure.

Mitigation Strategies

Apply the latest kernel update provided by your Linux distribution to ensure the vulnerability is patched. If an update is not yet available, monitor vendor advisories and apply patches as soon as they are released. Restart the system after applying the update to ensure the patched kernel is active.

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