Executive brief
A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's AMD display driver could cause a system crash. The issue occurs when the system attempts to log an error related to the display service but encounters a missing data structure, leading to a kernel panic. This primarily affects system stability and availability for users with AMD graphics hardware.
Technical details
A NULL pointer dereference exists in the AMD display driver component (dc_dmub_srv.c) within the Linux kernel. The functions dc_dmub_srv_log_diagnostic_data() and dc_dmub_srv_enable_dpia_trace() incorrectly handled error conditions by attempting to log an error using a pointer (dc_dmub_srv) that they had already identified might be NULL. Because the logging macro DC_LOG_ERROR() internally dereferences this pointer to access context data, it triggers a kernel panic. The fix involves decoupling the NULL check from the logging logic to ensure the pointer is valid before it is accessed for logging. Patches have been merged into stable kernel branches including 7.0.10 and 7.1.
Affected products
- Linux Linux Kernel 5.14 to 7.0.10
Timeline
- 2026-03-23: other: Patch authored by Srinivasan Shanmugam
- 2026-06-26: advisory: NVD advisory published