CVE-2026-74445 drm/vmwgfx: reject DX_BIND_QUERY without a DX context
A local attacker with access to the render node can trigger a kernel NULL pointer dereference in the vmwgfx driver, causing a system crash.
- 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
What is CVE-2026-74445?
CVE-2026-74445 is a 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:
drm/vmwgfx: reject DX_BIND_QUERY without a DX context
vmw_cmd_dx_bind_query() unconditionally dereferences sw_context->dx_ctx_node->ctx. Userspace can trigger a NULL pointer dereference from any render-node fd by submitting an execbuf with dx_context_handle == SVGA3D_INVALID_ID and a SVGA_3D_CMD_DX_BIND_QUERY opcode in the command stream: dx_ctx_node is left NULL and the kernel oopses on the assignment. The same NULL is then re-read in vmw_resources_reserve() via vmw_context_get_dx_query_mob().
All sibling DX handlers fail-close on a missing dx_ctx_node using VMW_GET_CTX_NODE(). Use the same pattern here, returning -EINVAL up front before any relocation state is published.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74445?
How do I fix CVE-2026-74445?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-74445 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74445 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-96296, BELL-CVE-2026-74445, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74445, GHSA-gvh6-m2h2-g86v, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74445.