Vulnerability · Published May 28, 2026 · Assigned by Linux

CVE-2026-46202HID: appletb-kbd: run inactivity autodim from workqueues

Medium 5.5

In plain English

A medium-severity security flaw in Linux from Linux. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.1% (higher than 2% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.

Severity (CVSS NVD)5.5Medium
Exploit odds (30 days)0.1%top 97.5% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsnot in CISA KEV
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: HID: appletb-kbd: run inactivity autodim from workqueues The autodim code in hid-appletb-kbd takes backlight_device->ops_lock via backlight_device_set_brightness() -> mutex_lock() from two different atomic contexts: * appletb_inactivity_timer() is a struct timer_list callback, so it runs in softirq context. Every expiry triggers BUG: sleeping function called from invalid context at kernel/locking/mutex.c:591 Call Trace: <IRQ> __might_resched __mutex_lock backlight_device_set_brightness appletb_inactivity_timer call_timer_fn run_timer_softirq * reset_inactivity_timer() is called from appletb_kbd_hid_event() and appletb_kbd_inp_event(). On real USB hardware these run in softirq/IRQ context (URB completion and input-event dispatch). When the Touch Bar has already been dimmed or turned off, the reset path calls backlight_device_set_brightness() directly to restore brightness, producing the same warning. Both call sites hit the same mutex_lock()-from-atomic bug. Fix them together by moving the blocking work onto the system workqueue: * Convert the inactivity timer from struct timer_list to struct delayed_work; the callback (appletb_inactivity_work) now runs in process context where mutex_lock() is legal. * Add a dedicated struct work_struct restore_brightness_work and have reset_inactivity_timer() schedule it instead of calling backlight_device_set_brightness() directly. Cancel both works synchronously during driver tear-down alongside the existing backlight reference drop. The semantics are unchanged (same delays, same state transitions on dim, turn-off and user activity); only the execution context of the sleeping call changes. The timer field and callback are renamed to match their new type; reset_inactivity_timer() keeps its name because it is invoked from input event paths that read naturally as "reset the inactivity timer".

Affected packages & fixed versions

EcosystemPackageFixed inAdvisory
Debian:14linux7.0.9-1DEBIAN-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:25.10linuxno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux7.0.0-28.28UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-allwinner-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:25.10linux-awsno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-aws7.0.0-1009.9UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:25.10linux-azureno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-azure7.0.0-1010.10UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-7.07.0.0-1014.14~24.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:25.10linux-azure-fdeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde7.0.0-1009.9UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-7.07.0.0-1013.13~24.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:25.10linux-gcpno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-gcp7.0.0-1008.8UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-gcp-7.07.0.0-1011.11~24.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-gke7.0.0-1003.4UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-hwe-7.07.0.0-28.28~24.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-ibm7.0.0-1010.10UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-intel-iot-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-nvidia7.0.0-1016.16UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-7.07.0.0-1016.16~24.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-bos7.0.0-2016.16UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-5.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.0no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.1no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.11no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.8no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-oem-7.07.0.0-1009.9UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:25.10linux-oracleno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-oracle7.0.0-1008.8UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oracle-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oracle-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oracle-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-oracle-7.07.0.0-1011.11~24.04.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:25.10linux-raspino fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-raspi7.0.0-1015.15UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-raspi-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:25.10linux-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-realtime7.0.0-28.28.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscvno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-riscvno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:25.10linux-riscvno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlinux-riscv7.0.0-28.28.1UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscv-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-riscv-6.14no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-riscv-6.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscv-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-riscv-7.07.0.0-28.28.1~24.04.3UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-starfive-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-starfive-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-starfive-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-46202

Affected products (as reported)

VendorProductVersions
Linux Linux 93a0fc48948107e0cc34e1de22c3cb363a8f2783 – before 5c0830323689ef15224f0025276176988861b3b093a0fc48948107e0cc34e1de22c3cb363a8f2783 – before 2473a334c292af257ef68e33bc7760f4a825181293a0fc48948107e0cc34e1de22c3cb363a8f2783 – before 1654e53349d4e657b331de354313461f401f5063
Linux Linux 6.15

References