# CVE-2026-97969: watchdog: msc313e: Fix clock leak and spurious timer in settimeout()

CVE-2026-97969 is fixed in 12 products on 1 platform, first by DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97969, released September 29, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: Routine.

- Web page: https://patchblox.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-97969
- Priority: Routine
- CVSS: 5.5 (Moderate)
- EPSS: 0.0017
- CISA KEV: not listed
- Exploited (vendor report): no
- Publicly disclosed: no
- Published: Sep 25, 2026
- Vendor advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-97969

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:  watchdog: msc313e: Fix clock leak and spurious timer in settimeout()  msc313e_wdt_settimeout() unconditionally calls msc313e_wdt_start() which introduces two severe bugs:  1. If the watchdog is already active, calling start() again will    increase the reference count of the clock again.  However stop() is    only called once, the reference count is unbalance. 2. If the watchdog is stopped, calling settimeout() will start    the hardware timer accidentally.  Factor out the register-writing logic into a helper function.  Only call it in settimeout() if the watchdog is running.  Otherwise, simply update `wdev->timeout`.

## Where it's fixed

| Platform | Product | Fixed in | Fix | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | kernel-64kb sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.90.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:5091-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-5091-1.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-azure sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.90.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:5091-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-5091-1.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-default sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.90.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:5091-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-5091-1.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-default-base sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.90.1.150700.17.51.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:5091-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-5091-1.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-docs sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.90.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:5091-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-5091-1.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP7_Update_24 sles 15.7 | 1-150700.15.3.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:5091-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-5091-1.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-obs-build sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.90.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:5091-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-5091-1.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-source sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.90.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:5091-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-5091-1.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-syms sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.90.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:5091-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-5091-1.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-zfcpdump sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.90.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:5091-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-5091-1.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | linux Debian 12.15 (bookworm) | 6.1.190-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97969](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-97969.md) | Sep 29, 2026 |
| Linux | linux Debian 13.5 (trixie) | 6.12.111-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97969](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-97969.md) | Sep 29, 2026 |
| Linux | linux Debian 14 | 7.2.7-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97969](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-97969.md) | Sep 29, 2026 |
| Linux | linux-6.12 Debian 12.15 (bookworm) | 6.12.111-1~deb12u1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97969](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-97969.md) | Sep 29, 2026 |

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Data as of 2026-11-08T19:12:23Z UTC. Source: Patchblox Patch Radar (https://patchblox.com/security/patch-radar). Patchblox finds out-of-date software on Windows, macOS and Linux and updates it through release rings: https://patchblox.com/demo

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