# CVE-2026-98512: drm/nouveau: RCU-free the scheduler-containing nouveau_sched

> An unprivileged local user can trigger a use-after-free in the nouveau GPU driver via sync file operations, potentially causing a system crash or information leak.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 18 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 24 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-98512, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98512, GHSA-2689-7jhq-fvhw, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98512

## What is CVE-2026-98512?

CVE-2026-98512 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 18 Oct 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/nouveau: RCU-free the scheduler-containing nouveau_sched

struct nouveau_sched embeds a struct drm_gpu_scheduler (base).
nouveau_sched_destroy() calls nouveau_sched_fini() (which does
drm_sched_fini(&sched->base)) and then frees the object with plain
kfree(sched).

drm_sched_fence_get_timeline_name() returns fence->sched->name, and the
scheduler fence keeps a .release callback so it is not ops-detached on
signalling.  A finished fence exported to userspace via drm_syncobj /
sync_file therefore keeps pointing at &sched->base after nouveau_sched_destroy(),
and a later get_timeline_name() -- reachable unprivileged through
SYNC_IOC_FILE_INFO -- dereferences freed memory (KASAN slab-use-after-free
read).

Per the dma-fence lifetime contract the exporter must keep the data backing a
signalled fence alive for an RCU grace period.  Free the scheduler-containing
object with kfree_rcu() instead of kfree().

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98512?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-98512?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-98512 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98512 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-98512 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-98512 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 18 Oct 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-2026-98512 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-2026-98512/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98512/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98512
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98512
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98512

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98512/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.