# CVE-2026-80888: drm/vmwgfx: drop dma_buf reference on foreign-fd prime import

> An unprivileged local user can leak DMA buffer references in the vmwgfx driver, causing memory exhaustion and denial of service.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **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:** 4 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 14 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-99684, BELL-CVE-2026-80888, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-80888, GHSA-3r89-cxvf-8cx5, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-80888

## What is CVE-2026-80888?

CVE-2026-80888 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 4 Sep 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: drop dma_buf reference on foreign-fd prime import

ttm_prime_fd_to_handle() returns -ENOSYS when the imported fd's
dma_buf->ops do not match the ttm_object_device's ops, but does so
without releasing the reference acquired by dma_buf_get().  Any
unprivileged renderD client passing a non-vmwgfx prime fd through the
DRM_VMW_GB_SURFACE_REF{,_EXT} path leaks one dma_buf reference per
call and indefinitely pins the foreign exporter's GEM resources.

Funnel the error path through the existing dma_buf_put() so the
reference is always dropped.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-80888?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-80888?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-80888 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-80888 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-80888 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-80888 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 4 Sep 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-2026-80888 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2026-80888/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-80888/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-80888
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-80888
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-80888

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-80888/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.