---
id: CVE-2026-98847
title: >-
  kernel: rtc: spear: initialize IRQ state before requesting alarm IRQ
  (CVE-2026-98847)
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's SPEAr Real-Time Clock (RTC) driver. The
  driver requests and enables an alarm interrupt before completing device
  initialization, specifically prior to setting up the memory-mapped I/O (MMIO)
  address an…
severity: medium
cvss: 4.1
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe: CWE-366
vendor: Red Hat
product: Linux
affected:
  - >-
    Linux >= 0942a71e435f5198921e8f072540f208f0176542 <
    aeda50d645bbb55241be840602e338b3a16c24ca
  - >-
    Linux >= 0942a71e435f5198921e8f072540f208f0176542 <
    c02aa67ea34a826c2cb1aa65d77cf32fafb7eec3
  - >-
    Linux >= 0942a71e435f5198921e8f072540f208f0176542 <
    e0cabda9b6f4dd276c55c40bdbb251e8507ae60e
  - >-
    Linux >= 0942a71e435f5198921e8f072540f208f0176542 <
    cb6d6a7fbff0414b9eed505d17687b4b7e38fee8
  - >-
    Linux >= 0942a71e435f5198921e8f072540f208f0176542 <
    055ef5ce9f67a6a3a1363fa663007f8196cc0fb8
  - Linux 3.0
published: '2026-10-18'
updated: '2026-10-23'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-23T22:19:22+00:00'
source: CSAF
sourceUrl: 'https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98847.json'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98847.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-98847'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2555246'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98847'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98847'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-98847.mbox
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/aeda50d645bbb55241be840602e338b3a16c24ca'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c02aa67ea34a826c2cb1aa65d77cf32fafb7eec3'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e0cabda9b6f4dd276c55c40bdbb251e8507ae60e'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cb6d6a7fbff0414b9eed505d17687b4b7e38fee8'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/055ef5ce9f67a6a3a1363fa663007f8196cc0fb8'
tags:
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00156
epssPercentile: 0.04712
ingestedAt: '2026-10-18T16:47:32.464Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's SPEAr Real-Time Clock (RTC) driver. The driver requests and enables an alarm interrupt before completing device initialization, specifically prior to setting up the memory-mapped I/O (MMIO) address and spinlock. If an interrupt triggers while device probing is in progress, the handler attempts to run with uninitialized resources. This race condition can cause the system to crash, leading to a Denial of Service (DoS).

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Moderate · updated 2026-10-23 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98847.json)

**kernel: rtc: spear: initialize IRQ state before requesting alarm IRQ** — rated Moderate by Red Hat. Released 2026-10-18, updated 2026-10-23.

Not affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

## Remediation

Refer to the advisory for fix availability.