Kernel crash via incorrect framebuffer error return
Published Oct 14, 2026 · Updated Oct 14, 2026
NULL dereference in Linux's virtio GPU driver allows local users to trigger a kernel crash through failed framebuffer creation. virtio_gpu_user_framebuffer_create() returns NULL instead of an error pointer after initialization fails, so drm_mode_addfb2() treats failure as success and dereferences NULL. Reachability requires access to the affected DRM device and an initialization failure; the public patch does not demonstrate attacker control of that failure or establish a privilege-escalation outcome.
Summary
What happened
NULL dereference in Linux's virtio GPU driver allows local users to trigger a kernel crash through failed framebuffer creation. virtio_gpu_user_framebuffer_create() returns NULL instead of an error pointer after initialization fails, so drm_mode_addfb2() treats failure as success and dereferences NULL. Reachability requires access to the affected DRM device and an initialization failure; the public patch does not demonstrate attacker control of that failure or establish a privilege-escalation outcome.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-98404
- Published
- Oct 14, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 14, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 14, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 14, 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.
- Affected versionversion=4.2
- Affected versionversion=dc5698e80cf724770283e10414054662bdf6ccfa <07de0b31dd64094cd7d25729beaf2ecae74daa72
- Affected versionversion=dc5698e80cf724770283e10414054662bdf6ccfa <3fe8a33715265ecb24ca0bcd0a575c926da4277c
- Affected versionversion=dc5698e80cf724770283e10414054662bdf6ccfa <45dc2788a5b0e1e2824d1f98af521bd3acc340d7
- Affected versionversion=dc5698e80cf724770283e10414054662bdf6ccfa <5eda6cda0031ba17559d56882353be39e568ec09
- Affected versionversion=dc5698e80cf724770283e10414054662bdf6ccfa <94579f24e2b526a04eb41050af0ba018c6f528e7
- Affected versionversion=dc5698e80cf724770283e10414054662bdf6ccfa <974845d2535a250b180e62f9ed50284f312c01a3
- Affected versionversion=dc5698e80cf724770283e10414054662bdf6ccfa <975f3cf302bb7d7336df4c630a7c07e12780ad10
- Affected versionversion=dc5698e80cf724770283e10414054662bdf6ccfa <f1050a7d365283678b253828739d3866ae546a72
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
No CVSS assessment is available in this record.
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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.
Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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