Improper update of reference count in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-89816
Published: September 17, 2026
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a local user to cause a memory leak.
The vulnerability exists due to improper reference counting in complete_signaling() in the DRM atomic UAPI when an atomic DRM ioctl using DRM_MODE_PAGE_FLIP_EVENT is blocked while waiting for fences. A local user can issue the atomic DRM ioctl with a sw_sync fence and send a signal to the blocked thread to cause a memory leak.
The condition was observed with amdgpu and vkms.
Affected software
Debian Linux
SUSE Linux Micro Extras
SUSE Linux Micro
Ubuntu
linux (Ubuntu package)
linux-kvm (Ubuntu package)
linux-aws (Ubuntu package)
linux-gcp (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure (Ubuntu package)
linux-oracle (Ubuntu package)
linux-lowlatency (Ubuntu package)
linux-gke (Ubuntu package)
linux-aws-5.15 (Ubuntu package)
linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.15 (Ubuntu package)
linux-hwe-5.15 (Ubuntu package)
linux-fips (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-5.15 (Ubuntu package)
linux-realtime (Ubuntu package)
linux-nvidia (Ubuntu package)
linux-ibm-5.15 (Ubuntu package)
linux-intel-iotg (Ubuntu package)
linux-nvidia-tegra-igx (Ubuntu package)
linux-nvidia-tegra (Ubuntu package)
linux-gkeop (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-fde-5.15 (Ubuntu package)
linux-ibm (Ubuntu package)
linux-intel-iotg-5.15 (Ubuntu package)
linux-oracle-5.15 (Ubuntu package)
linux-gcp-5.15 (Ubuntu package)
linux-nvidia-tegra-5.15 (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-fde (Ubuntu package)
linux-intel-iot-realtime (Ubuntu package)
linux-gcp-fips (Ubuntu package)
linux-aws-fips (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-fips (Ubuntu package)
linux-hwe-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
linux-oem-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
kernel-default-devel-debuginfo
kernel-default-debugsource
kernel-obs-build-debugsource
kernel-obs-build
kernel-syms
kernel-default-devel
kernel-64kb-devel
kernel-64kb-debugsource
kernel-default
kernel-64kb
linux (Debian package)
How to mitigate CVE-2026-89816
linux-kvm (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-1111.116
linux-aws (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 5.15.0-1119.126, 7.0.0-1016.17
linux-gcp (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 5.15.0-1120.130, 7.0.0-1016.18
linux-azure (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-1125.134
linux-oracle (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 5.15.0-1116.122, 7.0.0-1015.16
linux-lowlatency (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-197.207
linux-gke (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-1115.121
linux-aws-5.15 (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-1119.126~20.04.1
linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.15 (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-197.207~20.04.1
linux-hwe-5.15 (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-202.212~20.04.1
linux-fips (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-202.212+fips1
linux-azure-5.15 (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-1125.134~20.04.1
linux-realtime (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-1118.127
linux-nvidia (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-1114.115
linux-ibm-5.15 (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-1113.117~20.04.1
linux-intel-iotg (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-1114.120
linux-nvidia-tegra-igx (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-1059.59
linux-nvidia-tegra (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-1070.72
linux-gkeop (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-1102.110
linux-azure-fde-5.15 (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-1124.133~20.04.1
linux-ibm (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 5.15.0-1113.117, 7.0.0-1017.17
linux-intel-iotg-5.15 (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-1114.120~20.04.1
linux-oracle-5.15 (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-1116.122~20.04.1
linux-gcp-5.15 (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-1120.130~20.04.1
linux-nvidia-tegra-5.15 (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-1070.72~20.04.1
linux-azure-fde (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-1124.133
linux-intel-iot-realtime (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-1111.115
linux-gcp-fips (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-1120.130+fips1
linux-aws-fips (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-1119.126+fips1
linux-azure-fips (Ubuntu package) - update to 5.15.0-1125.134+fips1
linux-hwe-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-42.42~24.04.1
linux-oem-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1017.17
kernel-default-devel-debuginfo - update to 6.4.0-159998.55.1
kernel-default-debugsource - update to 6.4.0-159998.55.1
kernel-obs-build-debugsource - update to 6.4.0-159998.55.1
kernel-obs-build - update to 6.4.0-159998.55.1
kernel-syms - update to 6.4.0-159998.55.1
kernel-default-devel - update to 6.4.0-159998.55.1
kernel-64kb-devel - update to 6.4.0-159998.55.1
kernel-64kb-debugsource - update to 6.4.0-159998.55.1
kernel-default - update to 6.4.0-159998.55.1
kernel-64kb - update to 6.4.0-159998.55.1
linux (Debian package) - update to 6.12.111-1
External References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4d4be202165e832d74849b4a68e289a2a377039c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/66b1b309886337745d395bbc158440ab196305ce
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6a6a7aae4681a20cd32789fea9a487aaafa0e7a3
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/866a04137dac7e82a3848851061ff7ed15c2847e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c5517b71101f61a45144e3cf77a19626355272de
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e2f27b5ed9084feb7bae9ef2bc80de37c92280b1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e6195b941fdc8d81fc431c9f25539cf6c6234b51
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ff73f5f43d032c3da3c534c517f661e8dfeb358a
Related Security Bulletins
- Improper update of reference count in Linux kernel gpu drm driver
- Debian update for linux
- Ubuntu update for linux-azure-fde
- Ubuntu update for linux-oem-7.0
- Ubuntu update for linux, linux-aws, linux-gcp and more
- Ubuntu update for linux-nvidia-tegra, linux-nvidia-tegra-5.15, linux-nvidia-tegra-igx
- Ubuntu update for linux, linux-aws, linux-aws-5.15 and more
- SUSE update for the Linux Kernel