Memory leak in Linux kernel amdgpu driver on kobject add failure
Key facts
- Attack vector
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- Privileges required
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- User interaction
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- Attack complexity
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- Impact type
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- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
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- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 6 without a fix
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
The Linux kernel amdgpu driver, affected from 5.18, leaks memory when adding an IP instance to sysfs fails. The driver ignores the kobject_add() return value and does not drop the initial kobject reference, so the ip_hw_instance allocation is never freed.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-07
Description from the CNA
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/amdgpu: fix IP instance memory leak on kobject add failure amdgpu_discovery_sysfs_ips() allocates ip_hw_instance with kzalloc_flex() and initializes its embedded kobject before calling kobject_add(). If kobject_add() fails, the return value is ignored and execution continues without dropping the initial kobject reference. The failed kobject is not retained in the kset list, so the normal sysfs teardown path cannot find it. As a result, ip_hw_instance_release() is never called and the ip_hw_instance allocation is leaked. Call kobject_put() when kobject_add() fails so the initial reference is dropped and ip_hw_instance_release() can free the allocation. Keep the existing best-effort sysfs behavior by continuing with the remaining IP entries after the failed registration. The issue was identified by a static analysis tool I developed and confirmed by manual review. (cherry picked from commit 5c75fbcca8af1096d8d9415b91d8ea6212c22ee1)
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
Upgrade the Linux kernel to 6.1.191, 6.6.160, 6.12.113, 6.18.56, 7.2.10 or 7.3. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 has no fix planned, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, 9, 10 and OpenShift Container Platform 4 and 5 have no fix available.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-07
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.191, 6.6.160, 6.12.113, 6.18.56, 7.2.10, 7.3
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
Timeline
- 2026-10-18 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-98780
- 2026-10-18 Alias added: GHSA-5p9g-gx3h-932c
- 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-10-21 Fix available: Linux/[email protected], Linux/Linux@f6364e7284a131556f5d763d867147bece2843a8 · CNA
- 2026-10-21 1 new reference · CNA
- 2026-10-24 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-24 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-10-30 Fix available: Linux/Linux@1d7dd4f230867231abfc5cc413dae5260e06fdb2, Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-10-30 1 new reference · CNA
- 2026-11-07 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Other 6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1d7dd4f230867231abfc5cc413dae5260e06fdb2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f6364e7284a131556f5d763d867147bece2843a8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0563b26c1437fe7e25ea42c334eb85c0a703f8ff
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7ca44cb14d0249992a8f1425ba004d6e2d16d255
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c05bbcc263d67b8b158e2a52be7e3005895969d1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f5a5add3605935163dd0f75749b6a7869e9765af
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Sources
- CVE-2026-98780 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-98780 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-5p9g-gx3h-932c · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-98780 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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