# CVE-2026-52966: drm: Replace old pointer to new idr

> A logic error in the Linux kernel DRM subsystem fails to update an IDR pointer, leading to a use-after-free condition and potential system crash.

- **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:** 24 Jun 2026
- **Updated:** 24 Jun 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-52966, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-52966, GHSA-x485-q562-qf82, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-52966

## What is CVE-2026-52966?

CVE-2026-52966 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 Jun 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: Replace old pointer to new idr

Commit 5e28b7b94408 introduced a logical error by failing to replace the
newly generated IDR pointer to old id's pointer at the correct location
within the "change handle" logic; this resulted in the issue reported by
syzbot [1].

Specifically, the new IDR object pointer is intended to replace the original
id's pointer during the normal execution flow.

Additionally, an unnecessary conditional check for the ret exit path has
been removed.

[1]
!RB_EMPTY_ROOT(&prime_fpriv->dmabufs)
WARNING: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_prime.c:224 at drm_prime_destroy_file_private+0x48/0x60 drivers/gpu/drm/drm_prime.c:224, CPU#0: syz.0.17/5833
Call Trace:
 drm_file_free.part.0+0x7e6/0xcc0 drivers/gpu/drm/drm_file.c:269
 drm_file_free drivers/gpu/drm/drm_file.c:237 [inline]
 drm_close_helper.isra.0+0x186/0x200 drivers/gpu/drm/drm_file.c:290
 drm_release+0x1ab/0x360 drivers/gpu/drm/drm_file.c:438

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-52966?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-52966?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-52966 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-52966 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-2026-52966 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-52966 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 Jun 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-2026-52966 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-2026-52966/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-52966/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-52966
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-52966
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-52966

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-52966/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.