CVE-2026-68256 drm/amd/display: detect_link_and_local_sink: DP alt mode timeout path leaks prev_sink reference
A memory leak in the Linux kernel's AMD display driver can lead to resource exhaustion and denial of service.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-68256?
CVE-2026-68256 is a memory corruption vulnerability in Linux, published on 10 Aug 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/amd/display: detect_link_and_local_sink: DP alt mode timeout path leaks prev_sink reference
prev_sink is unconditionally retained via dc_sink_retain at function entry, but the DP alt mode timeout path inside SIGNAL_TYPE_DISPLAY_PORT returns false without releasing prev_sink. All other return paths in the function correctly call dc_sink_release(prev_sink), making this the only missing cleanup.
(cherry picked from commit 45510cf662dcf46b5d8926d454f338809f107b9d)
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-68256?
How do I fix CVE-2026-68256?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2026-68256 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-68256 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-68256, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68256, GHSA-pvvr-9j3m-hvhg, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68256.