CVE-2026-98926
NoneCVSS
—
EPSS
0.2%
Published
Oct 23, 2026
CISA due date
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Cloudanix analysis
A flaw in Linux graphics handling for AMD hardware could let certain power-saving actions crash the system.
- Exploitation
- Local Privilege
- Attacker needs
- Local User
- Complexity
- Low
- Impact
- Denial Of Service
- Component
- OS kernel
- Class
- Memory Corruption
- Remediation
- Upgrade
- Effort
- Medium
- Patch risk
- Low
What it actually does
Null pointer dereference in AMD display DPMS sequences due to unchecked access of optional stream->sink pointer and related link fields.
Why it matters to the business
Kernel instability or crashes on Linux systems using AMD graphics hardware, with potential for denial of service in display power management.
How an attack unfolds
An attacker with local access triggers DPMS on/off sequences where the optional sink pointer is null, causing the kernel to dereference invalid memory in the AMD display driver.
How to fix it
Update the Linux kernel to a patched version containing the DPMS sink removal, link replacement, and assert additions in the AMD display driver.
How to confirm the fix worked
Inspect kernel source for added null checks on stream->sink, replacement of sink->link with stream->link, and new asserts in USB4 bandwidth allocation and DPMS paths.
Typical attack path
- Obtain local user access on a Linux system with AMD GPU
- Induce repeated DPMS power state transitions
- Trigger null dereference in stream sink handling
How to detect it
Search kernel logs and dmesg for AMD display driver oops or panic messages involving null pointers or stream sink dereferences during DPMS activity.
What your security team should do
- Apply kernel updates as soon as available due to recent publication
- Monitor AMD display driver stability in affected environments
- Review logs for related null pointer oops after any display power events
The record
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/amd/display: Remove sink usage from DPMS [Why] stream->sink is optional and can be null, so should always be checked before dereference. Additionally, most of its usage in DPMS sequences is for stream->sink->link, which can be replaced with stream->link, as the two should always be the same. [How] * Replace stream->sink->link in DPMS on/off * Add assert to USB4 BW allocation where sink is required * Avoid inconsistencies in resource access, e.g. don't repeat stream->link after it was already saved to a local variable * Pull out effective VPG calculation to helper getter * Formatting fixes
Affected packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Introduced | Fixed |
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