# CVE-2026-43237: drm/amdgpu: Refactor amdgpu_gem_va_ioctl for Handling Last Fence Update and Timeline Management v4 > A use-after-free vulnerability in the amdgpu driver allows local attackers to cause a system crash via refcount underflows. - **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 6 May 2026 - **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026 - **Also known as:** AZL-85884, BELL-CVE-2026-43237, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-43237, GHSA-q8m3-r6x8-76gx, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-43237, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-43237, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-43237, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-43237, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-43237, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43237 ## What is CVE-2026-43237? CVE-2026-43237 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 6 May 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/amdgpu: Refactor amdgpu_gem_va_ioctl for Handling Last Fence Update and Timeline Management v4 This commit simplifies the amdgpu_gem_va_ioctl function, key updates include: - Moved the logic for managing the last update fence directly into amdgpu_gem_va_update_vm. - Introduced checks for the timeline point to enable conditional replacement or addition of fences. v2: Addressed review comments from Christian. v3: Updated comments (Christian). v4: The previous version selected the fence too early and did not manage its reference correctly, which could lead to stale or freed fences being used. This resulted in refcount underflows and could crash when updating GPU timelines. The fence is now chosen only after the VA mapping work is completed, and its reference is taken safely. After exporting it to the VM timeline syncobj, the driver always drops its local fence reference, ensuring balanced refcounting and avoiding use-after-free on dma_fence. Crash signature: [ 205.828135] refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free. [ 205.832963] WARNING: CPU: 30 PID: 7274 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcount_warn_saturate+0xbe/0x110 ... [ 206.074014] Call Trace: [ 206.076488] [ 206.078608] amdgpu_gem_va_ioctl+0x6ea/0x740 [amdgpu] [ 206.084040] ? __pfx_amdgpu_gem_va_ioctl+0x10/0x10 [amdgpu] [ 206.089994] drm_ioctl_kernel+0x86/0xe0 [drm] [ 206.094415] drm_ioctl+0x26e/0x520 [drm] [ 206.098424] ? __pfx_amdgpu_gem_va_ioctl+0x10/0x10 [amdgpu] [ 206.104402] amdgpu_drm_ioctl+0x4b/0x80 [amdgpu] [ 206.109387] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x96/0xe0 [ 206.113156] do_syscall_64+0x66/0x2d0 ... [ 206.553351] BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffffffffc0dfde90 ... [ 206.553378] RIP: 0010:dma_fence_signal_timestamp_locked+0x39/0xe0 ... [ 206.553405] Call Trace: [ 206.553409] [ 206.553415] ? __pfx_drm_sched_fence_free_rcu+0x10/0x10 [gpu_sched] [ 206.553424] dma_fence_signal+0x30/0x60 [ 206.553427] drm_sched_job_done.isra.0+0x123/0x150 [gpu_sched] [ 206.553434] dma_fence_signal_timestamp_locked+0x6e/0xe0 [ 206.553437] dma_fence_signal+0x30/0x60 [ 206.553441] amdgpu_fence_process+0xd8/0x150 [amdgpu] [ 206.553854] sdma_v4_0_process_trap_irq+0x97/0xb0 [amdgpu] [ 206.554353] edac_mce_amd(E) ee1004(E) [ 206.554270] amdgpu_irq_dispatch+0x150/0x230 [amdgpu] [ 206.554702] amdgpu_ih_process+0x6a/0x180 [amdgpu] [ 206.555101] amdgpu_irq_handler+0x23/0x60 [amdgpu] [ 206.555500] __handle_irq_event_percpu+0x4a/0x1c0 [ 206.555506] handle_irq_event+0x38/0x80 [ 206.555509] handle_edge_irq+0x92/0x1e0 [ 206.555513] __common_interrupt+0x3e/0xb0 [ 206.555519] common_interrupt+0x80/0xa0 [ 206.555525] [ 206.555527] ... [ 206.555650] RIP: 0010:dma_fence_signal_timestamp_locked+0x39/0xe0 ... [ 206.555667] Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception in interrupt Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-43237? It affects 1 product. Products: Linux kernel. ## How do I fix CVE-2026-43237? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2026-43237 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-43237 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-2026-43237 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2026-43237 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 6 May 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-2026-43237 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-2026-43237/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-43237/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-43237 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-43237 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-43237 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-43237/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.