Reference leak and wrong vm_bo link in Linux imagination driver
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
- Fixed
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
The Linux kernel imagination DRM driver from 6.8 mishandles a map request that overlaps an existing mapping. Each split keeps an extra GEM reference that is never dropped, which leaks shared memory, and the split parts are linked to the new object's vm_bo instead of the original object's, which triggers a kernel warning.
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/imagination: Fix reference and vm_bo handling in remap() When a map overlaps part of an existing mapping, pvr_vm_gpuva_remap() splits the mapping into prev/next parts covering what the request did not take, instead of creating something new. It gets two things wrong. - A GEM reference is taken for each part but it's never needed and never dropped, so it leaks one reference per split (remap-next-in-2m in tests/imagination/pvr_vm_map.c): CRITICAL: 33558528 bytes of shmem still held after close - The parts still belong to the original object being split, but pvr_vm_gpuva_remap() links them to ctx->gpuvm_bo, the new object's vm_bo: prev_va --obj--> BO_A BO_B <--obj-- vm_bo (ctx->gpuvm_bo) \___________link___________/ (mismatch: BO_A != BO_B) drm_gpuva_link() catches the mismatch: WARNING: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_gpuvm.c:2108 at drm_gpuva_link+0x2ec/0x310 drm_WARN_ON(obj != vm_bo->obj) Call trace: drm_gpuva_link pvr_vm_gpuva_remap __drm_gpuvm_sm_map pvr_vm_map pvr_ioctl_vm_map Link them to op->remap.unmap->va->vm_bo instead. The locking of the GPUVA lists of the other objects touched by a split is not addressed here; it is handled by switching the GPUVM to immediate mode.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
Update the Linux kernel to 6.12.113, 6.18.57, 7.2.11 or 7.3, which contain the fix. The sources list no advisory identifier for this fix.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-07
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.12.113, 6.18.57, 7.2.11, 7.3
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 7 products
- 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
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5
Timeline
- 2026-10-23 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-98949
- 2026-10-23 Alias added: GHSA-5cm7-74mx-p47m
- 2026-10-29 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-29 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-11-07 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
More Linux vulnerabilities
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- TI-2021-02452 Incorrect authorization in Ubuntu linux kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
Sources
- CVE-2026-98949 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-98949 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-5cm7-74mx-p47m · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-98949 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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