CVE-2026-23188 – A deadlock vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2026-23188?

CVE-2026-23188 has a CVSS score of N/A (Unknown). A deadlock vulnerability in the Linux kernel's r8152 USB Ethernet driver can cause system hangs during device resume operations. This affects Linux systems using Realtek RTL8152/RTL8153-based USB Ethernet adapters. The deadlock occurs when the driver attempts to reset the device while holding a mutex lock, creating a recursive locking scenario.

📋 TL;DR

A deadlock vulnerability in the Linux kernel's r8152 USB Ethernet driver can cause system hangs during device resume operations. This affects Linux systems using Realtek RTL8152/RTL8153-based USB Ethernet adapters. The deadlock occurs when the driver attempts to reset the device while holding a mutex lock, creating a recursive locking scenario.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Linux kernel r8152 driver

Versions: Linux kernel versions containing vulnerable r8152 driver code (specific versions not provided in CVE)

Operating Systems: Linux distributions using affected kernel versions

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Only affects systems using Realtek RTL8152/RTL8153 USB Ethernet adapters. Vulnerability triggers during system resume from sleep/suspend states.

⚠️ Manual Verification Required

This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.

Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).

🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.

Recommended Actions:

Review the CVE details at NVD
Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

System becomes completely unresponsive requiring hard reboot, potentially causing data loss or service disruption.

🟠

Likely Case

USB Ethernet adapter fails to resume properly after system sleep/suspend, requiring manual intervention to restore network connectivity.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minor service interruption until system is rebooted or adapter is manually reset.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - This is a local driver issue not directly exploitable over network.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Can cause system instability for users of affected USB Ethernet adapters.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires physical or local access to trigger device resume. Not a remote code execution vulnerability.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Patched in kernel commits: 1b2efc593dca99d8e8e6f6d6c7ccd9a972679702, 61c8091b7937f91f9bc0b7f6b578de270fe35dc7, 6d06bc83a5ae8777a5f7a81c32dd75b8d9b2fe04

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/

Restart Required: No

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to version containing the fix commits. 2. For distributions: Use package manager to update kernel package. 3. For custom kernels: Apply the patch commits from kernel git repository.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable USB Ethernet adapter suspend

linux

Prevent the adapter from entering suspend state to avoid triggering the deadlock during resume.

echo 'on' > /sys/bus/usb/devices/[device]/power/control
Replace [device] with your USB Ethernet adapter ID from lsusb

Use different network adapter

all

Temporarily use a different network interface until kernel is patched.

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Avoid system sleep/suspend states while using affected USB Ethernet adapter
Implement monitoring for system hangs and have manual reboot procedures ready

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check if using Realtek RTL8152/RTL8153 USB Ethernet adapter with: lsusb | grep -i realtek

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Check kernel version contains fix commits: grep -r '1b2efc593dca99d8e8e6f6d6c7ccd9a972679702' /usr/src/linux/

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Kernel logs showing 'DPM device timeout' messages
System logs indicating USB device reset failures
Kernel panic logs related to mutex deadlock

Network Indicators:

Sudden loss of network connectivity on USB Ethernet interface
Interface going down after system resume

SIEM Query:

source="kernel" AND "DPM device timeout" OR "rtl8152" AND "deadlock" OR "mutex_lock"

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2026-23188

CVSS v3 Score: N/A (Unknown)

Published: February 14, 2026

Last Updated: February 18, 2026

🔗 References

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