CVE-2026-23266 fbdev: rivafb: fix divide error in nv3_arb()
A local attacker can crash the Linux kernel by triggering a divide-by-zero error in the rivafb driver via a crafted ioctl call.
- 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
What is CVE-2026-23266?
CVE-2026-23266 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 Mar 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:
fbdev: rivafb: fix divide error in nv3_arb()
A userspace program can trigger the RIVA NV3 arbitration code by calling the FBIOPUT_VSCREENINFO ioctl on /dev/fb*. When doing so, the driver recomputes FIFO arbitration parameters in nv3_arb(), using state->mclk_khz (derived from the PRAMDAC MCLK PLL) as a divisor without validating it first.
In a normal setup, state->mclk_khz is provided by the real hardware and is non-zero. However, an attacker can construct a malicious or misconfigured device (e.g. a crafted/emulated PCI device) that exposes a bogus PLL configuration, causing state->mclk_khz to become zero. Once nv3_get_param() calls nv3_arb(), the division by state->mclk_khz in the gns calculation causes a divide error and crashes the kernel.
Fix this by checking whether state->mclk_khz is zero and bailing out before doing the division.
The following log reveals it:
rivafb: setting virtual Y resolution to 2184 divide error: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP KASAN PTI CPU: 0 PID: 2187 Comm: syz-executor.0 Not tainted 5.18.0-rc1+ #1 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.12.0-59-gc9ba5276e321-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:nv3_arb drivers/video/fbdev/riva/riva_hw.c:439 [inline] RIP: 0010:nv3_get_param+0x3ab/0x13b0 drivers/video/fbdev/riva/riva_hw.c:546 Call Trace: nv3CalcArbitration.constprop.0+0x255/0x460 drivers/video/fbdev/riva/riva_hw.c:603 nv3UpdateArbitrationSettings drivers/video/fbdev/riva/riva_hw.c:637 [inline] CalcStateExt+0x447/0x1b90 drivers/video/fbdev/riva/riva_hw.c:1246 riva_load_video_mode+0x8a9/0xea0 drivers/video/fbdev/riva/fbdev.c:779 rivafb_set_par+0xc0/0x5f0 drivers/video/fbdev/riva/fbdev.c:1196 fb_set_var+0x604/0xeb0 drivers/video/fbdev/core/fbmem.c:1033 do_fb_ioctl+0x234/0x670 drivers/video/fbdev/core/fbmem.c:1109 fb_ioctl+0xdd/0x130 drivers/video/fbdev/core/fbmem.c:1188 __x64_sys_ioctl+0x122/0x190 fs/ioctl.c:856
Weakness: CWE-369
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23266?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2026-23266?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2026-23266 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23266 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as AZL-80097, BELL-CVE-2026-23266, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23266, GHSA-c589-8xvr-7cm3, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-23266, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-23266 and 1 more.