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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2026-52951

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-06-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.12.91 / 6.18.33 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click 8 weeks old

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/xe/dma-buf: handle empty bo and UAF races There look to be some nasty races here when triggering the invalidate_mappings hook: 1) We do xe_bo_alloc() followed by the attach, before the actual full bo init step in xe_dma_buf_init_obj(). However the bo is visible on the attachments list after the attach. This is bad since exporter driver, say amdgpu, can at any time call back into our invalidate_mappings hook, with an empty/bogus bo, leading to potential bugs/crashes. 2) Similar to 1) but here we get a UAF, when the invalidate_mappings hook is triggered. For example, we get as far as xe_bo_init_locked() but this fails in some way. But here the bo will be freed on error, but we still have it attached from dma-buf pov, so if the invalidate_mappings is now triggered then the bo we access is gone and we trigger UAF and more bugs/crashes. To fix this, move the attach step until after we actually have a fully set up buffer object. Note that the bo is not published to userspace until later, so not sure what the comment "Don't publish the bo until we have a valid attachment", is referring to. We have at least two different customers reporting hitting a NULL ptr deref in evict_flags when importing something from amdgpu, followed by triggering the evict flow. Hit rate is also pretty low, which would hint at some kind of race, so something like 1) or 2) might explain this. v2: - Shuffle the order of the ops slightly (no functional change) - Improve the comment to better explain the ordering (Matt B) (cherry picked from commit af1f2ad0c59fe4e2f924c526f66e968289d77971)

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A race condition in the Linux kernel's Xe DRM/dma-buf implementation allows an exporter driver (e.g., amdgpu) to call back into the invalidate_mappings hook before the buffer object is fully initialized. This leads to either accessing an empty/bogus bo (causing NULL pointer dereference in evict_flags) or a use-after-free when the bo is freed after failed initialization but still attached from dma-buf's perspective. The fix requires moving the attach step until after the buffer object is fully set up.

MitigationApply the kernel patch that reorders the attachment sequence to ensure the buffer object is fully initialized before becoming visible on the attachments list, preventing the race condition window.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 6.8, < 6.12.91>= 6.13, < 6.18.33>= 6.19, < 7.0.10= 7.1

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the running Linux kernel version
    Run `uname -r` or check `/proc/version` to get the exact kernel version string
    Affected if The kernel version falls within any of these ranges: >= 6.8 and < 6.12.91; >= 6.13 and < 6.18.33; >= 6.19 and < 7.0.10; or equals 7.1
  2. Verify the drm/xe subsystem is present
    Check if the kernel has drm/xe support by looking for `/sys/module/xe` or checking kernel config with `zcat /proc/config.gz 2>/dev/null | grep CONFIG_DRM_XE` or `ls /dev/dri/ 2>/dev/null` for xe devices
    Affected if The drm/xe module is loaded or built into the kernel (this is the component with the vulnerability)
  3. Check for amdgpu or other dma-buf exporter drivers in use
    Look for amdgpu driver presence via `lsmod | grep amdgpu` or check `/sys/module/amdgpu`, or check drm driver usage in `/sys/class/drm/`
    Affected if amdgpu or other GPU drivers using dma-buf import/export are loaded and active; these drivers can trigger the invalidate_mappings hook with incompletely initialized buffer objects

You are affected if you run a kernel version in the affected ranges AND use the drm/xe subsystem with dma-buf importing drivers like amdgpu, as this combination allows the race condition to trigger the NULL pointer dereference.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.12.91 / 6.18.33 / 7.0.10 or later
Fixed in 6.12.916.18.337.0.10
Interim mitigation

Apply the kernel patch that reorders the attachment sequence to ensure the buffer object is fully initialized before becoming visible on the attachments list, preventing the race condition window.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel 6.12.91 (for 6.8-6.12.x users), 6.18.33 (for 6.13-6.18.x users), 7.0.10 (for 6.19-7.0.x users), or latest stable with fix (for 7.1 users)

  1. 1. Check current kernel version: uname -r
  2. 2. Determine appropriate upgrade target based on current version: if running 6.8-6.12.x, upgrade to >=6.12.91; if running 6.13-6.18.x, upgrade to >=6.18.33; if running 6.19-7.0.x, upgrade to >=7.0.10; if running 7.1, upgrade to a version with the fix applied
  3. 3. Update package repository and install the new kernel version using distro-specific package manager (e.g., apt-get update && apt-get install linux-image-<version> for Debian/Ubuntu, or yum/dnf update for RHEL/Fedora)
  4. 4. Reboot system to load the new kernel
  5. 5. Verify kernel version after reboot: uname -r
Caveat Minimal risk - this is a targeted security fix for a race condition in drm/xe/dma-buf; should not break functionality

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Linux Kernel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-52951 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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