CVE-2026-68261
Received Received - Intake

Null Pointer Dereference in PowerVR Linux Kernel Driver

Publication date: 2026-08-10

Last updated on: 2026-08-10

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/imagination: fix error checking of pvr_vm_context_lookup() Since pvr_vm_context_lookup() returns either NULL or a pointer, then stop using IS_ERR() for checking the return value. Using IS_ERR() leads to the kernel oops reported below. It can be reproduced by passing an invalid VM context handle from userspace to the DRM_IOCTL_PVR_CREATE_CONTEXT ioctl. [ 92.733119] Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000148 [ 92.742042] Mem abort info: [ 92.744890] ESR = 0x0000000096000004 [ 92.748686] EC = 0x25: DABT (current EL), IL = 32 bits [ 92.754020] SET = 0, FnV = 0 [ 92.757154] EA = 0, S1PTW = 0 [ 92.760337] FSC = 0x04: level 0 translation fault [ 92.765243] Data abort info: [ 92.768129] ISV = 0, ISS = 0x00000004, ISS2 = 0x00000000 [ 92.773626] CM = 0, WnR = 0, TnD = 0, TagAccess = 0 [ 92.778763] GCS = 0, Overlay = 0, DirtyBit = 0, Xs = 0 [ 92.784098] user pgtable: 4k pages, 48-bit VAs, pgdp=000000088ed23000 [ 92.790550] [0000000000000148] pgd=0000000000000000, p4d=0000000000000000 [ 92.797381] Internal error: Oops: 0000000096000004 [#1] SMP [ 92.803027] Modules linked in: powervr [ 92.852533] CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 409 Comm: triangle Not tainted 7.1.0-rc5-g98b46e693b91 #1 PREEMPT [ 92.861385] Hardware name: Texas Instruments AM68 SK (DT) [ 92.866766] pstate: 60000005 (nZCv daif -PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) [ 92.873709] pc : pvr_vm_get_fw_mem_context+0x0/0xc [powervr] [ 92.879376] lr : pvr_queue_create+0x26c/0x440 [powervr] [ 92.884595] sp : ffff8000837fbb00 [ 92.887895] x29: ffff8000837fbb60 x28: 0000000000000000 x27: ffff8000837fbce8 [ 92.895015] x26: ffff000807f61a40 x25: ffff000807f61a00 x24: ffff000807f64400 [ 92.902135] x23: ffff00080a5ab000 x22: ffff800079b24730 x21: ffff000807f61800 [ 92.909254] x20: ffff00080999e680 x19: 0000000000000000 x18: 0000000000000000 [ 92.916373] x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000000 x15: 0000000000000001 [ 92.923492] x14: 0000000000000000 x13: 0000000000000002 x12: ffff80008145b298 [ 92.930611] x11: ffff8000844e5000 x10: ffff80008165a130 x9 : 0000000000000100 [ 92.937730] x8 : 0000000000000001 x7 : ffff0008076b27e0 x6 : ffff00080ec43b7c [ 92.944850] x5 : ffff00080ec43b78 x4 : 0000000000000000 x3 : ffff00080999e680 [ 92.951968] x2 : 0000000000000000 x1 : 0000000000000000 x0 : 0000000000000000 [ 92.959088] Call trace: [ 92.961521] pvr_vm_get_fw_mem_context+0x0/0xc [powervr] (P) [ 92.967173] pvr_context_create+0x190/0x410 [powervr] [ 92.972218] pvr_ioctl_create_context+0x44/0x8c [powervr] [ 92.977608] drm_ioctl_kernel+0xbc/0x124 [drm] [ 92.982127] drm_ioctl+0x1f8/0x4dc [drm] [ 92.986098] __arm64_sys_ioctl+0xac/0x104 [ 92.990102] invoke_syscall+0x54/0x10c [ 92.993842] el0_svc_common.constprop.0+0x40/0xe0 [ 92.998532] do_el0_svc+0x1c/0x28 [ 93.001835] el0_svc+0x38/0x11c [ 93.004969] el0t_64_sync_handler+0xa0/0xe4 [ 93.009139] el0t_64_sync+0x198/0x19c [ 93.012792] Code: aa1703e0 d2800014 95cb0ba4 17ffffe8 (f940a400) [ 93.018869] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---

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Meta Information

Published
2026-08-10
Last Modified
2026-08-10
Generated
2026-08-10
AI Q&A
2026-08-10
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-68261
EUVD
EUVD-2026-55362

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
imagination powervr *

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Exploitability

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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

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Executive Summary

This is a Linux kernel vulnerability in the PowerVR graphics driver where an incorrect error check using IS_ERR() on a function that returns NULL or a pointer causes a kernel oops. Passing an invalid VM context handle from userspace triggers a NULL pointer dereference, leading to a system crash.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability is specific to the Linux kernel's drm/imagination driver and can be detected by checking for kernel oops or crashes related to the DRM_IOCTL_PVR_CREATE_CONTEXT ioctl. Monitor system logs for NULL pointer dereference errors or kernel crashes involving the powervr module.

Impact Analysis

An attacker with local access could exploit this to crash the system by causing a kernel oops, potentially leading to denial of service. It requires passing a malformed VM context handle through a specific ioctl call.

Mitigation Strategies

Apply the kernel patch that fixes the error checking in pvr_vm_context_lookup(). Avoid passing invalid VM context handles from userspace to the DRM_IOCTL_PVR_CREATE_CONTEXT ioctl. Update to a patched kernel version if available.

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