CVE-2026-72245 gpu: host1x: Fix device reference leak in host1x_device_parse_dt() error path
A reference leak in the Linux kernel host1x driver error path can lead to memory 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-2026-72245?
CVE-2026-72245 is a memory corruption vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 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:
gpu: host1x: Fix device reference leak in host1x_device_parse_dt() error path
After device_initialize(), the embedded struct device in struct host1x_device should be released through the device core with put_device().
In host1x_device_add(), if host1x_device_parse_dt() fails, the current error path frees the object directly with kfree(device). That bypasses the normal device lifetime handling and leaks the reference held on the embedded struct device.
The issue was identified by a static analysis tool I developed and confirmed by manual review.
Fix this by using put_device() in the host1x_device_parse_dt() failure path.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72245?
How do I fix CVE-2026-72245?
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-2026-72245 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72245 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-72245, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72245, GHSA-mgwq-29pq-cq6w, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72245.