Look up another CVE · open CVE-2026-68446 in the interactive tracker
CVE-2026-68446
drm/vmwgfx: Validate vmw_surface_metadata::array_size
Published 2026-08-12 (2 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem drivers/gpu. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-68446 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 | fixedDLA-4777-1 · 2026-09-08 · text | 6.1.187-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4777-1 shipped the fix on 2026-09-08, in 6.1.187-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixed | 6.12.101-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.101-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.1.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.1.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 12bookworm · linux-6.12 | fixedDLA-4745-1 · 2026-08-18 · text | 6.12.101-1~deb12u1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4745-1 shipped the fix on 2026-08-18, in 6.12.101-1~deb12u1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
This field comes from userspace and should be validated against specific limits depending on which Shader Model (SM) is available.
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/vmwgfx/vmwgfx_surface.c
- What this is
- DRM DRIVER FOR VMWARE VIRTUAL GPUMAINTAINERS section matched on drivers/gpu/drm/vmwgfx/ · dri-devel@lists.freedesktop.org · Supported
- Kernel module
- vmwgfx
Check it on the machine
grep -w CONFIG_DRM_VMWGFX /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 vmwgfxPrints 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.
- bookwormMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae, armhf/rt/armmp, ppc64el/powerpc64le
- trixieMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64, armel/rpi, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae, armhf/rt/armmp, ppc64el/powerpc64le, ppc64el/powerpc64le-64k, riscv64/riscv64, s390x/s390x
- forky, sidMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae, loong64/loong64, ppc64el/powerpc64le, ppc64el/powerpc64le-64k, riscv64/riscv64, s390x/s390x
- bookworm · linux-6.12Mnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae, armhf/rt/armmp, ppc64el/powerpc64le, ppc64el/powerpc64le-64k
- M
- a module where it is built at all; some flavours do not build it
- Build switch
- CONFIG_DRM_VMWGFX
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
- 2026-08-12 (2 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
- 0.12%, higher than 1.7% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 5.7 | 5.10.265 | e949adf2d426 |
| 5.7 | 5.15.216 | 0403cec2aff8 |
| 5.7 | 6.1.183 | aded8463466e |
| 5.7 | 6.6.148 | 5ff94e127917 |
| 5.7 | 6.12.101 | 71779fe8bf40 |
| 5.7 | 6.18.42 | b1379f0c42b8 |
| 5.7 | 7.1.6 | 6910ccaf4167 |
| 5.7 | 7.2 | a4f55260f7f7 |
Debian advisories
| Advisory | Date | Shipped to | Debian |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLA-4777-1 | 2026-09-08 | bookworm 6.1.187-1 | tracker |
| DLA-4745-1 | 2026-08-18 | bookworm 6.12.101-1~deb12u1 | tracker |
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 bug is reached through the DRM_IOCTL_VMW_GB_SURFACE_CREATE/_EXT ioctls on the vmwgfx render node (/dev/dri/renderD128), i.e. local access to the device file on a VMware guest; no network or physical access is involved.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- The attacker directly supplies array_size, mip_levels and base_size in a single ioctl and can deterministically choose values that wrap the 32-bit size/subresource computations; no race or uncontrolled precondition is required.
- PR:LPrivileges required, low
- Both ioctls are registered DRM_RENDER_ALLOW, so an unprivileged local user (or containerized workload) holding the normal render-node permissions can call them without DRM master, root, or any capability.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- Exploitation is entirely attacker-driven via ioctl calls on an already-open render node; no action by another user or administrator is needed.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- The unvalidated value corrupts guest kernel memory and device-command state within the same kernel security authority; no VM/IOMMU or sandbox boundary is crossed by the flaw itself.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- The wrapped res->guest_memory_size makes the backing buffer far smaller than the surface the host device is told to service, and the undersized dirty->boxes array is indexed out of bounds, giving out-of-bounds reads of adjacent kernel heap data that can be leaked back through surface contents.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- The u32 overflows in vmw_surface_get_serialized_size() and num_layers*num_mip yield an undersized backing BO and dirty-tracking array, producing controlled out-of-bounds heap writes (SVGA3dBox data and device DMA past the buffer) usable for heap corruption and privilege escalation.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- Out-of-bounds writes past kvzalloc'd dirty trackers and BO-sized mismatches reliably corrupt kernel heap metadata, causing oopses/panics; huge array_size values also drive enormous allocations, so a local user can crash the guest kernel.