Executive brief
A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's AMD graphics driver could cause a system crash (kernel panic) during GPU hardware cleanup. This typically occurs if the graphics card fails to initialize properly due to unsupported hardware components. While primarily an availability issue, it could lead to unexpected system reboots or instability for users with affected AMD hardware.
Technical details
A NULL pointer dereference exists in the amdgpu_device_fini_hw function of the Linux kernel's DRM/AMD driver. When GPU initialization fails due to an unsupported hardware block, certain IP blocks may be left with a NULL version pointer. During subsequent cleanup, the functions amdgpu_device_set_pg_state and amdgpu_device_set_cg_state iterate through these blocks and attempt to access the version member without a NULL check. This results in a kernel panic. The issue has been resolved by adding explicit NULL checks for the version pointer in both affected functions. Fixes were backported to multiple stable kernel branches.
Affected products
- Linux Linux kernel versions prior to fixed commits in stable branches
Timeline
- 2026-03-04: other: Patch authored
- 2026-05-08: disclosed: CVE published