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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2026-98609: Linux kernel · drm/virtio: fix object leak when drm_gem_handle_create() fails

Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database

0
Authoritative record:CVE-2026-98609· Medium

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.7 Medium.

Data as of 28 Oct 2026, 01:28 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score
5.7Medium
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 18 Oct 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

What to do

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinuxpkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threatsAffected
  • 6.17.0-5.5 – 7.0.0-38.38
23 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-awspkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threatsAffected
  • 6.17.0-1002.2 – 7.0.0-1014.14
15 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azurepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threatsAffected
  • 6.17.0-1003.3 – 7.0.0-1017.17
15 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azure-fdepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threatsAffected
  • 7.0.0-1003.3 – 7.0.0-1016.16
9 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gcppkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threatsAffected
  • 6.17.0-1002.2 – 7.0.0-1014.14
13 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gkepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gke?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threatsAffected
  • 7.0.0-1002.3 – 7.0.0-1008.9
6 affected builds
Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/virtio: fix object leak when drm_gem_handle_create() fails virtio_gpu_gem_create() owns the reference taken by virtio_gpu_object_create(). On the drm_gem_handle_create() error path it calls drm_gem_object_release() instead of dropping that reference. drm_gem_object_release() is the inverse of drm_gem_object_init() and does not touch the reference count or call obj->funcs->free(), so it is only correct as the last step of a destructor, as in virtio_gpu_cleanup_object(). Using it here leaves the bo at refcount 1 with no remaining reference, so virtio_gpu_free_object() never runs and the shmem pages, sg table and virtio_gpu_object are leaked. Since virtio_gpu_object_create() has already set bo->created, VIRTIO_GPU_CMD_RESOURCE_UNREF is not queued either, leaking the host-side resource and the resource id. drm_gem_handle_create_tail() drops the handle reference on all of its internal error paths, so the caller only has to drop its own. Use drm_gem_object_put(), matching the success path below.

References

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