CVE-2026-23467 drm/i915/dmc: Fix an unlikely NULL pointer deference at probe

What is CVE-2026-23467?

CVE-2026-23467 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 3 Apr 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/i915/dmc: Fix an unlikely NULL pointer deference at probe

intel_dmc_update_dc6_allowed_count() oopses when DMC hasn't been initialized, and dmc is thus NULL.

That would be the case when the call path is intel_power_domains_init_hw() -> {skl,bxt,icl}_display_core_init() -> gen9_set_dc_state() -> intel_dmc_update_dc6_allowed_count(), as intel_power_domains_init_hw() is called *before* intel_dmc_init().

However, gen9_set_dc_state() calls intel_dmc_update_dc6_allowed_count() conditionally, depending on the current and target DC states. At probe, the target is disabled, but if DC6 is enabled, the function is called, and an oops follows. Apparently it's quite unlikely that DC6 is enabled at probe, as we haven't seen this failure mode before.

It is also strange to have DC6 enabled at boot, since that would require the DMC firmware (loaded by BIOS); the BIOS loading the DMC firmware and the driver stopping / reprogramming the firmware is a poorly specified sequence and as such unlikely an intentional BIOS behaviour. It's more likely that BIOS is leaving an unintentionally enabled DC6 HW state behind (without actually loading the required DMC firmware for this).

The tracking of the DC6 allowed counter only works if starting / stopping the counter depends on the _SW_ DC6 state vs. the current _HW_ DC6 state (since stopping the counter requires the DC5 counter captured when the counter was started). Thus, using the HW DC6 state is incorrect and it also leads to the above oops. Fix both issues by using the SW DC6 state for the tracking.

This is v2 of the fix originally sent by Jani, updated based on the first Link: discussion below.

(cherry picked from commit 2344b93af8eb5da5d496b4e0529d35f0f559eaf0)

Weakness: CWE-476

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23467?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2026-23467?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Is CVE-2026-23467 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23467 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

• CVE-2026-53266 Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2013-6282 Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2022-0185 Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2013-2094 Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2026-53362 Linux Kernel Unspecified Exploited High 7.8

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-23467, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23467, GHSA-2qjv-hmp6-mh5w, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23467.