A race condition occurs when the driver starts device IO and then calls hid_hw_stop() without first stopping the IO. If the probe fails after IO has begun, the subsequent hid_hw_stop() can free resources that are still in use by hid_input_report(), resulting in a use‑after‑free condition. This flaw can lead to arbitrary memory corruption and, in this kernel context, could be leveraged by a local attacker to gain higher privileges or crash the kernel.

Linux kernel builds that include the nzxt‑smart2 hardware monitoring driver. The flaw is present in the driver code shipped with the kernel and requires no special configuration or external components.

The CVSS score is not supplied in the data, and the EPSS score is unavailable; the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog. Because the flaw manifests during driver initialization on device probe, the attack vector is inferred to be local with physical or privileged access to the device. Exploitation would involve manipulating the probe sequence to trigger the race, but no public exploit has been documented.