CVE-2026-98243

What it is

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: dma-buf/dma-fence: fix checking signaling bit for timeline and driver name v3 The patch "dma-buf: dma-fence: Fix potential NULL pointer dereference" changed the check to test for the ops pointer instead of the signaled bit to avoid a potential NULL dereference when the ops pointer has been cleared. The problem is now that the ops pointer is cleared only when neither the release nor the wait callback is implemented and this isn't true for a lot of dma_fence implementations yet. So those implementations lost the RCU protection after signaling of the returned string resulting in potential use after free. Add the signaling check additional to the ops pointer check so that we have both the protection against NULL dereference as well as the RCU protection after signaling for the returned string. v2: improve comments to note RCU protection and explain why we check both signaling state and ops pointer v3: some comment improvements suggested by Philip

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited locally on the machine with a low-privilege account. High risk of data exposure, service disruption.

Exploit odds

0.1% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

No patch or advisory is linked yet. Look at mitigations or restrict exposure.

Timeline

1. 2026-10-06 09:18 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-10-19 10:18 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Details

Published

2026-10-06 09:18 UTC

Last modified

2026-10-19 10:18 UTC

Exploit probability

0.1% · EPSS, next 30 days

Record status

Received

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 7.1

Attack vector

Local

Complexity

Low

Privileges needed

Low

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

None

Availability

High