# CVE-2026-98949: drm/imagination: Fix reference and vm_bo handling in remap()


- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 23 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 23 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-98949, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98949, GHSA-5cm7-74mx-p47m, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98949

## What is CVE-2026-98949?

CVE-2026-98949 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 23 Oct 2026. 

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

drm/imagination: Fix reference and vm_bo handling in remap()

When a map overlaps part of an existing mapping, pvr_vm_gpuva_remap()
splits the mapping into prev/next parts covering what the request did
not take, instead of creating something new. It gets two things wrong.

- A GEM reference is taken for each part but it's never needed and never
  dropped, so it leaks one reference per split (remap-next-in-2m in
  tests/imagination/pvr_vm_map.c):

    CRITICAL: 33558528 bytes of shmem still held after close

- The parts still belong to the original object being split, but
  pvr_vm_gpuva_remap() links them to ctx->gpuvm_bo, the new object's
  vm_bo:

    prev_va --obj--> BO_A          BO_B <--obj-- vm_bo (ctx->gpuvm_bo)
            \___________link___________/  (mismatch: BO_A != BO_B)

  drm_gpuva_link() catches the mismatch:

    WARNING: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_gpuvm.c:2108 at drm_gpuva_link+0x2ec/0x310
      drm_WARN_ON(obj != vm_bo->obj)
    Call trace:
     drm_gpuva_link
     pvr_vm_gpuva_remap
     __drm_gpuvm_sm_map
     pvr_vm_map
     pvr_ioctl_vm_map

  Link them to op->remap.unmap->va->vm_bo instead.

The locking of the GPUVA lists of the other objects touched by a split is
not addressed here; it is handled by switching the GPUVM to immediate
mode.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98949?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-98949?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-98949 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98949 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-98949 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-98949 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 23 Oct 2026. 
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98949 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-2026-98949/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98949/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98949
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98949
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98949

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98949/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.