# CVE-2026-53190: drm/virtio: fix dma_fence refcount leak on error in virtio_gpu_dma_fence_wait()

> A reference count leak in the Linux kernel's virtio GPU driver can lead to resource exhaustion and denial of service.

- **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:** 25 Jun 2026
- **Updated:** 25 Jun 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-90722, BELL-CVE-2026-53190, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53190, GHSA-vc55-8273-pjx9, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-53190, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-53190

## What is CVE-2026-53190?

CVE-2026-53190 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 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/virtio: fix dma_fence refcount leak on error in virtio_gpu_dma_fence_wait()

dma_fence_unwrap_for_each() internally calls dma_fence_unwrap_first()
which does cursor->chain = dma_fence_get(head), taking an extra
reference. On normal loop completion, dma_fence_unwrap_next()
releases this via dma_fence_chain_walk() -> dma_fence_put().

When virtio_gpu_do_fence_wait() fails and the function returns early
from inside the loop, the cursor->chain reference is never released.
This is the only caller in the entire kernel that does an early return
inside dma_fence_unwrap_for_each.

Add dma_fence_put(itr.chain) before the early return.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53190?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-53190?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-53190 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53190 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-2026-53190 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-53190 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 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-2026-53190 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-2026-53190/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53190/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-53190
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53190
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-53190

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53190/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.