CVE-2026-53281

iommu/vt-d: Avoid NULL pointer dereference or refcount corruption

Published Jun 26, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 8.8 High EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

iommu/vt-d: Avoid NULL pointer dereference or refcount corruption

Commit 60f030f7418d ("iommu/vt-d: Avoid use of NULL after WARN_ON_ONCE")
fixed a NULL pointer dereference in an unlikely situation partly.

If dev_pasid is not found in the dev_pasids list, it remains NULL.
However, the teardown operations are executed unconditionally, this lead
to a NULL pointer dereference or refcount corruption.

If the domain was never attached to this IOMMU, info will be NULL, which
would cause an immediate dereference when checking --info->refcnt.

Even if info is not NULL, decrementing the refcount without having removed
a valid PASID might unbalance the count. This could lead to premature
dropping of the refcount to 0, potentially causing a use-after-free for the
remaining active devices sharing the domain.

Fix it by returning early if dev_pasid is NULL, before executing the
teardown operations.

Issue found by AI review and suggested by Kevin Tian.
https://sashiko.dev/#/patchset/20260421031347.1408890-1-zhenzhong.duan%40intel.com

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Debian DLA Debian DLA DLA-4904-1 linux-6.12 security update
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8566-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8568-1 Linux kernel (OEM) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8569-1 Linux kernel (HWE) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8593-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8603-1 Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8618-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8663-1 Linux kernel (NVIDIA) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8664-1 Linux kernel (NVIDIA BaseOS) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8728-1 Linux kernel (GCP) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8781-1 Linux kernel (NVIDIA Tegra) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8728-2 Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8728-3 Linux kernel (Oracle) vulnerabilities
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-416
CWE-476
Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-416
CWE-476
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 8.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-416
CWE-476
Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: iommu/vt-d: Avoid NULL pointer dereference or refcount corruption Commit 60f030f7418d ("iommu/vt-d: Avoid use of NULL after WARN_ON_ONCE") fixed a NULL pointer dereference in an unlikely situation partly. If dev_pasid is not found in the dev_pasids list, it remains NULL. However, the teardown operations are executed unconditionally, this lead to a NULL pointer dereference or refcount corruption. If the domain was never attached to this IOMMU, info will be NULL, which would cause an immediate dereference when checking --info->refcnt. Even if info is not NULL, decrementing the refcount without having removed a valid PASID might unbalance the count. This could lead to premature dropping of the refcount to 0, potentially causing a use-after-free for the remaining active devices sharing the domain. Fix it by returning early if dev_pasid is NULL, before executing the teardown operations. Issue found by AI review and suggested by Kevin Tian. https://sashiko.dev/#/patchset/20260421031347.1408890-1-zhenzhong.duan%40intel.com
Title iommu/vt-d: Avoid NULL pointer dereference or refcount corruption
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References
Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
Linux
Published
Updated
Oct 21, 2026, 12:42 PM
Reserved
Jun 9, 2026, 7:44 AM
Status
Modified
Published
Jun 26, 2026, 8:17 PM
Modified
Oct 21, 2026, 1:19 PM
Severity
Important
Public date
Jun 26, 2026, 12:00 AM