---
id: "CVE-2026-98751"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-98751"]
title: "Linux kernel: tty break ioctl race with hangup can call a dead driver"
severity: "unknown"
cvss: null
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "runtime"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["kernel", "linux", "runtime", "tty"]
not_affected_if: []
published_at: "2026-10-18T16:17:28+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-23T21:57:16+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-25T05:16:53+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98751", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T21:57:16+00:00"}]
---

# Linux kernel: tty break ioctl race with hangup can call a dead driver

The Linux kernel's tty break ioctls (TCSBRK and TCSBRKP) can race with a terminal hangup and call into a tty driver for a device that is already gone or powered down. The fix aborts break signalling on hangup so the driver is not called back after a user-controlled timeout, possibly after the tty has been reopened.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23T21:57:16+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98751

## From the sources

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

tty: abort break signalling on hangup

The break ioctls can race with hangup and end up calling into a tty
driver for a device that is already gone or powered down.

Drivers must handle this race, but TCSBRK and TCSBRKP should still be
aborted to avoid calling back into the driver after a user-controlled
timeout (possibly even after the tty has been reopened).

Note that drivers should disable any break state on shutdown so just
return on hangup (calling break_ctl() again is racy and will most likely
fail for drivers handling the race).

---

_Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai_