Cloudanix VulnDB

CVE-2026-68261

None

CVSS

—

EPSS

0.2%

Published

Aug 10, 2026

CISA due date

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Cloudanix analysis

Schedule a fix SSVC: Track

A coding mistake in a graphics driver lets a program send bad information that crashes the entire computer.

Exploitation
Local Privilege
Attacker needs
Low Privilege
Complexity
Low
Impact
Denial Of Service
Component
OS kernel
Class
Improper Input Validation
Remediation
Patch
Effort
Low
Patch risk
Low

What it actually does

Incorrect use of IS_ERR() on pvr_vm_context_lookup() return value (which is NULL or pointer) allows NULL pointer dereference when an invalid VM context handle reaches DRM_IOCTL_PVR_CREATE_CONTEXT, resulting in kernel oops in pvr_vm_get_fw_mem_context.

Why it matters to the business

Unprivileged local users can trigger kernel crashes on systems using the PowerVR DRM driver, causing denial of service and potential loss of availability for graphics workloads.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker invokes the DRM_IOCTL_PVR_CREATE_CONTEXT ioctl from userspace with an invalid VM context handle; the driver passes the result of pvr_vm_context_lookup() to IS_ERR() which treats a valid NULL as non-error, then dereferences a NULL pointer in pvr_vm_get_fw_mem_context leading to the oops.

How to fix it

Apply the upstream fix that replaces IS_ERR() checks with direct NULL checks on the return value of pvr_vm_context_lookup(); rebuild and deploy the corrected kernel image for affected PowerVR platforms.

How to confirm the fix worked

Inspect the pvr_vm_context_lookup() call sites in the powervr driver to confirm IS_ERR() has been replaced by explicit NULL comparison; attempt to reproduce the original oops with an invalid handle after the patch.

Typical attack path

  1. Obtain access to a device exposing the powervr DRM driver
  2. Craft and send DRM_IOCTL_PVR_CREATE_CONTEXT ioctl containing an invalid VM context handle
  3. Trigger NULL dereference inside pvr_vm_get_fw_mem_context during context creation

How to detect it

Search kernel logs and crash dumps for Oops messages containing pvr_vm_get_fw_mem_context, pvr_queue_create, or powervr module references together with DRM_IOCTL_PVR_CREATE_CONTEXT activity from untrusted processes.

  • pvr_vm_get_fw_mem_context
  • DRM_IOCTL_PVR_CREATE_CONTEXT
  • powervr
  • pvr_context_create

What your security team should do

  • Prioritize kernel updates containing the pvr_vm_context_lookup() error-check fix on all systems exposing the powervr module
  • Limit untrusted local access to DRM device nodes until patches are deployed
  • Monitor kernel logs for Oops strings referencing pvr_vm_get_fw_mem_context

The record

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/imagination: fix error checking of pvr_vm_context_lookup() Since pvr_vm_context_lookup() returns either NULL or a pointer, then stop using IS_ERR() for checking the return value. Using IS_ERR() leads to the kernel oops reported below. It can be reproduced by passing an invalid VM context handle from userspace to the DRM_IOCTL_PVR_CREATE_CONTEXT ioctl. [ 92.733119] Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000148 [ 92.742042] Mem abort info: [ 92.744890] ESR = 0x0000000096000004 [ 92.748686] EC = 0x25: DABT (current EL), IL = 32 bits [ 92.754020] SET = 0, FnV = 0 [ 92.757154] EA = 0, S1PTW = 0 [ 92.760337] FSC = 0x04: level 0 translation fault [ 92.765243] Data abort info: [ 92.768129] ISV = 0, ISS = 0x00000004, ISS2 = 0x00000000 [ 92.773626] CM = 0, WnR = 0, TnD = 0, TagAccess = 0 [ 92.778763] GCS = 0, Overlay = 0, DirtyBit = 0, Xs = 0 [ 92.784098] user pgtable: 4k pages, 48-bit VAs, pgdp=000000088ed23000 [ 92.790550] [0000000000000148] pgd=0000000000000000, p4d=0000000000000000 [ 92.797381] Internal error: Oops: 0000000096000004 [#1] SMP [ 92.803027] Modules linked in: powervr [ 92.852533] CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 409 Comm: triangle Not tainted 7.1.0-rc5-g98b46e693b91 #1 PREEMPT [ 92.861385] Hardware name: Texas Instruments AM68 SK (DT) [ 92.866766] pstate: 60000005 (nZCv daif -PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) [ 92.873709] pc : pvr_vm_get_fw_mem_context+0x0/0xc [powervr] [ 92.879376] lr : pvr_queue_create+0x26c/0x440 [powervr] [ 92.884595] sp : ffff8000837fbb00 [ 92.887895] x29: ffff8000837fbb60 x28: 0000000000000000 x27: ffff8000837fbce8 [ 92.895015] x26: ffff000807f61a40 x25: ffff000807f61a00 x24: ffff000807f64400 [ 92.902135] x23: ffff00080a5ab000 x22: ffff800079b24730 x21: ffff000807f61800 [ 92.909254] x20: ffff00080999e680 x19: 0000000000000000 x18: 0000000000000000 [ 92.916373] x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000000 x15: 0000000000000001 [ 92.923492] x14: 0000000000000000 x13: 0000000000000002 x12: ffff80008145b298 [ 92.930611] x11: ffff8000844e5000 x10: ffff80008165a130 x9 : 0000000000000100 [ 92.937730] x8 : 0000000000000001 x7 : ffff0008076b27e0 x6 : ffff00080ec43b7c [ 92.944850] x5 : ffff00080ec43b78 x4 : 0000000000000000 x3 : ffff00080999e680 [ 92.951968] x2 : 0000000000000000 x1 : 0000000000000000 x0 : 0000000000000000 [ 92.959088] Call trace: [ 92.961521] pvr_vm_get_fw_mem_context+0x0/0xc [powervr] (P) [ 92.967173] pvr_context_create+0x190/0x410 [powervr] [ 92.972218] pvr_ioctl_create_context+0x44/0x8c [powervr] [ 92.977608] drm_ioctl_kernel+0xbc/0x124 [drm] [ 92.982127] drm_ioctl+0x1f8/0x4dc [drm] [ 92.986098] __arm64_sys_ioctl+0xac/0x104 [ 92.990102] invoke_syscall+0x54/0x10c [ 92.993842] el0_svc_common.constprop.0+0x40/0xe0 [ 92.998532] do_el0_svc+0x1c/0x28 [ 93.001835] el0_svc+0x38/0x11c [ 93.004969] el0t_64_sync_handler+0xa0/0xe4 [ 93.009139] el0t_64_sync+0x198/0x19c [ 93.012792] Code: aa1703e0 d2800014 95cb0ba4 17ffffe8 (f940a400) [ 93.018869] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---

Affected packages

Ecosystem Package Introduced Fixed