# CVE-2025-71124: drm/msm/a6xx: move preempt_prepare_postamble after error check

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's MSM GPU driver can cause a system crash if postamble allocation fails.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 14 Jan 2026
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-71124, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-71124, GHSA-9mpp-7gwm-7rx8, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-71124

## What is CVE-2025-71124?

CVE-2025-71124 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 14 Jan 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

drm/msm/a6xx: move preempt_prepare_postamble after error check

Move the call to preempt_prepare_postamble() after verifying that
preempt_postamble_ptr is valid. If preempt_postamble_ptr is NULL,
dereferencing it in preempt_prepare_postamble() would lead to a crash.

This change avoids calling the preparation function when the
postamble allocation has failed, preventing potential NULL pointer
dereference and ensuring proper error handling.

Patchwork: https://patchwork.freedesktop.org/patch/687659/

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-71124?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-71124?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-71124 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-71124 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-71124 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-71124 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 14 Jan 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-71124 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-71124/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-71124/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-71124
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-71124
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-71124

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-71124/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.