CVE-2026-23034

Driver-unload failure via unreleased fence reference

Published Jan 31, 2026 · Updated Jan 31, 2026

Resource leak in Linux Kernel 6.16 through 6.18.6 leaves AMDGPU fence objects allocated during driver unload after queue teardown. The amdgpu_userq_fence_driver_free() path destroys the fence driver and its xarray without calling dma_fence_put() on userq->last_fence, so the retained reference keeps the final fence alive. The issue requires an AMDGPU user-mode queue with a last fence followed by driver unload, and it prevents the amdgpu_userq_fence slab cache from shutting down cleanly.

CVSS severityUnavailable
Unscored
EPSS probability0.18%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Resource leak in Linux Kernel 6.16 through 6.18.6 leaves AMDGPU fence objects allocated during driver unload after queue teardown. The amdgpu_userq_fence_driver_free() path destroys the fence driver and its xarray without calling dma_fence_put() on userq->last_fence, so the retained reference keeps the final fence alive. The issue requires an AMDGPU user-mode queue with a last fence followed by driver unload, and it prevents the amdgpu_userq_fence slab cache from shutting down cleanly.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-23034
Published
Jan 31, 2026
Updated
Jan 31, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
Unavailable
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 31, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jan 31, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=6.16
  2. Affected versionversion=edc762a51c7181d6fe1e0837e2eb69afb406f98e <b2426a211dba6432e32a2e70e9183c6e134475c6
  3. Affected versionversion=edc762a51c7181d6fe1e0837e2eb69afb406f98e <e1a30e1ab33fc522785d04bbf7e1b13a5c5c9175

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=6.16; version=edc762a51c7181d6fe1e0837e2eb69afb406f98e <b2426a211dba6432e32a2e70e9183c6e134475c6; version=edc762a51c7181d6fe1e0837e2eb69afb406f98e <e1a30e1ab33fc522785d04bbf7e1b13a5c5c9175

Published CVSS scores

No CVSS assessment is available in this record.

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

No sourced classifications are available.

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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