VulnerabilityPublished 18 Oct 2026Updated 21 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-98781: Linux kernel · drm/mediatek: Fix pdev reference leak in mtk_drm_bind()

Source GCVE Database

Authoritative record:CVE-2026-98781

Not known to be exploited · fixed in cb3e0244514d13507c6048777e1d0277e611cf6c : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 6% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in cb3e0244514d13507c6048777e1d0277e611cf6c, b84f1386d84b3a73f73ebb416a3f97c5d64a8ab3, 3753e34b73fcbe2a2edbe984614a008a261697ef +2

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 18 Oct 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by 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.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

ghsa-3r3h-q9jp-47gf

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 1ef7ed48356cd5f9af2b7671956991b658d8c2ba, < cb3e0244514d13507c6048777e1d0277e611cf6c	Fixed in cb3e0244514d13507c6048777e1d0277e611cf6c
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 1ef7ed48356cd5f9af2b7671956991b658d8c2ba, < b84f1386d84b3a73f73ebb416a3f97c5d64a8ab3	Fixed in b84f1386d84b3a73f73ebb416a3f97c5d64a8ab3
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 1ef7ed48356cd5f9af2b7671956991b658d8c2ba, < 3753e34b73fcbe2a2edbe984614a008a261697ef	Fixed in 3753e34b73fcbe2a2edbe984614a008a261697ef
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 1ef7ed48356cd5f9af2b7671956991b658d8c2ba, < 4a8f9cad0fced77b36b297c67c42730c9cb32ec6	Fixed in 4a8f9cad0fced77b36b297c67c42730c9cb32ec6
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 1ef7ed48356cd5f9af2b7671956991b658d8c2ba, < 4a0ae61067671f556eeaf5ea4e59a1db63163d70	Fixed in 4a0ae61067671f556eeaf5ea4e59a1db63163d70
LinuxLinux	Affected =6.4	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

A fix has been implemented in the Linux kernel to address this reference leak by properly releasing the device reference in the non-master path of mtk_drm_bind(). Users should update to the patched kernel version once available. Patch status is not explicitly confirmed in the provided data; check the vendor advisory or Linux kernel mailing lists for the exact fixed version and update accordingly.

Description

A reference leak vulnerability in the Linux kernel's drm/mediatek driver was fixed. The issue occurred in the mtk_drm_bind() function, where a device reference was taken but not released if the device was not the mmsys master. This could lead to resource leaks due to the missing reference drop in the non-master code path.

Impact

The vulnerability causes a reference leak in kernel device management, which can lead to resource exhaustion or instability in the drm/mediatek subsystem. There is no indication of direct exploitation or escalation impact from the provided data.

Summary

The Linux kernel's drm/mediatek driver contained a reference leak in the mtk_drm_bind() function. Specifically, when the device was not the mmsys master, the function returned early after acquiring a reference on the disp-mutex device via of_find_device_by_node(), but failed to release this reference. The corresponding mtk_drm_unbind() function only released the reference for the master device, leaving the non-master device references unreleased. This flaw was corrected by ensuring the reference is dropped before returning from the non-master path.

References

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