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CVE-2026-52976
drm/xe: Fix error cleanup in xe_exec_queue_create_ioctl()
Published 2026-06-24 (4 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem drivers/gpu. Debian urgency: unimportant.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-52976 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source
| Release | Status | Version | What this means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 12bookworm | not affected | 6.1.190-1 | Nothing to do. bookworm never shipped the vulnerable code. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixed | 6.12.94-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.94-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.0.10-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.0.10-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.0.10-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.0.10-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
Two error handling issues exist in xe_exec_queue_create_ioctl(): 1. When xe_hw_engine_group_add_exec_queue() fails, the error path jumps to put_exec_queue which skips xe_exec_queue_kill(). If the VM is in preempt fence mode, xe_vm_add_compute_exec_queue() has already added the queue to the VM's compute exec queue list. Skipping the kill leaves the queue on that list, leading to a dangling pointer after the queue is freed. 2. When xa_alloc() fails after xe_hw_engine_group_add_exec_queue() has succeeded, the error path does not call xe_hw_engine_group_del_exec_queue() to remove the queue from the hw engine group list. The queue is then freed while still linked into the hw engine group, causing a use-after-free. Fix both by: - Changing the xe_hw_engine_group_add_exec_queue() failure path to jump to kill_exec_queue so that xe_exec_queue_kill() properly removes the queue from the VM's compute list. - Adding a del_hw_engine_group label before kill_exec_queue for the xa_alloc() failure path, which removes the queue from the hw engine group before proceeding with the rest of the cleanup. (cherry picked from commit 37c831f401746a45d510b312b0ed7a77b1e06ec8)
Where it lives
The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.
drivers/gpu/drm/xe/xe_exec_queue.c
- What this is
- INTEL DRM XE DRIVER (Lunar Lake and newer)MAINTAINERS section matched on drivers/gpu/drm/xe/ · intel-xe@lists.freedesktop.org · Supported
- Kernel module
- xe
Check it on the machine
grep -w CONFIG_DRM_XE /boot/config-$(uname -r)Reads the booted kernel's own configuration, on the machine and nowhere else. =y is built in, =m is a module, and an is not set line means the code is not there.
lsmod | grep -w xePrints a line if that module is loaded right now, and nothing if it is not. One that is not loaded can still be loaded later by anything that needs it.
Show whether Debian builds this, per release
Debian builds this, but not on every flavour. At least one release below builds the code on some of its kernel flavours and not on others, so the answer depends on the architecture and flavour installed. The build rule could not be established for 1 release, so nothing is claimed about those.
- bookworm?
- trixieMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/arm64-16k, arm64/cloud-arm64, armel/rpi, ppc64el/powerpc64le-64k, s390x/s390x
- forky, sidMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/arm64-16k, arm64/cloud-arm64, loong64/loong64, ppc64el/powerpc64le-64k, s390x/s390x
- ?
- not established - no Makefile entry for the affected file
- M
- a module where it is built at all; some flavours do not build it
Where a release above reads "not established", no build rule for the affected file was found in that release's kernel tree. That is a gap in this lookup, not a finding that the code is absent.
- Build switch
- CONFIG_DRM_XE
From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS kbuild Makefiles Debian linux-config packages
Signals
- Published
- 2026-06-24 (4 months ago)source
- CVSS
- 7.8 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- local (AV:L)source
- EPSS
- 0.18%, higher than 7.5% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- unimportantsource
- Subsystem
- drivers/gpu
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 6.12 | 6.12.91 | f93b00161213 |
| 6.12 | 6.18.33 | 753b149d5a43 |
| 6.12 | 7.0.10 | 1be55646d8a2 |
| 6.12 | 7.1 | f3cc22d4df3e |
Why the CNA scored it this way
Quoted from the kernel CNA's own scoring file, word for word. A highlighted metric carries the most severe value CVSS v3.1 defines for it, which is what pushes the score up. source
- AV:LAttack vector, local
- The vulnerable code is reached through the local DRM Xe `XE_EXEC_QUEUE_CREATE` ioctl on a GPU device/render node. It is not reachable by remote network traffic or adjacent/physical input.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- The attacker controls the ioctl sequence and can drive the relevant error cleanup paths through local resource pressure or interruptible operations. No uncontrollable race or rare victim state is required for the dangling queue pointer to be created and later exercised.
- PR:LPrivileges required, low
- The ioctl is registered with `DRM_RENDER_ALLOW`, with no root, DRM master, or authentication requirement, so an unprivileged local GPU client that can open the render node can reach it. This is basic local user access, not real administrator privilege.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- Exploitation only requires the attacker to issue ioctls from their own process. No victim user action is needed.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- The bug is within the kernel DRM Xe driver and impacts kernel resources under the same OS security authority. It does not cross a VM, hypervisor, or IOMMU security boundary by itself.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- The cleanup bug leaves a freed `struct xe_exec_queue` linked into VM or hardware-engine-group lists, creating a use-after-free. Under the required kernel scoring guidance, UAF memory corruption is treated as enabling high confidentiality impact.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- The stale list entry is later dereferenced through queue fields and operation pointers, making this kernel heap use-after-free potentially exploitable for control-flow or memory corruption. Under the required guidance, UAF implies high integrity impact.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- The dangling pointer can be reached by later VM or engine-group list traversal and can cause kernel oops, panic, or hang. A local attacker can trigger the condition repeatedly, so availability impact is high.