# CVE-2026-98609: drm/virtio: fix object leak when drm_gem_handle_create() fails

> A local attacker can trigger a memory leak in the virtio GPU driver, leading to resource 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:** 18 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-109370, BELL-CVE-2026-98609, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98609, GHSA-4mj5-5wcx-f4jj, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98609

## What is CVE-2026-98609?

CVE-2026-98609 is a memory corruption 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/virtio: fix object leak when drm_gem_handle_create() fails

virtio_gpu_gem_create() owns the reference taken by
virtio_gpu_object_create(). On the drm_gem_handle_create() error path it
calls drm_gem_object_release() instead of dropping that reference.

drm_gem_object_release() is the inverse of drm_gem_object_init() and does
not touch the reference count or call obj->funcs->free(), so it is only
correct as the last step of a destructor, as in
virtio_gpu_cleanup_object(). Using it here leaves the bo at refcount 1
with no remaining reference, so virtio_gpu_free_object() never runs and
the shmem pages, sg table and virtio_gpu_object are leaked. Since
virtio_gpu_object_create() has already set bo->created,
VIRTIO_GPU_CMD_RESOURCE_UNREF is not queued either, leaking the host-side
resource and the resource id.

drm_gem_handle_create_tail() drops the handle reference on all of its
internal error paths, so the caller only has to drop its own. Use
drm_gem_object_put(), matching the success path below.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98609?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-98609?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-98609 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98609 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-98609 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-98609 is a memory corruption 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-2026-98609 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-2026-98609/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98609/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98609
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98609
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98609

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98609/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.