Junglewise Threat Intelligence

CVE-2026-64153: Linux Kernel MSM DRM improper return value check in msm_iommu.c

CVE-2026-64153 · Severity: info · Published 2026-07-19

Vendors: Linux.

Executive brief

A vulnerability was identified in the Linux kernel's MSM DRM driver, which manages graphics for Qualcomm-based systems. Due to an incorrect check of return values during memory mapping operations, the system could trigger kernel warnings or fail to handle errors properly. This could potentially lead to system instability or unexpected behavior in graphics-heavy applications.

Technical details

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's drm/msm driver stems from an incorrect return value check in the msm_iommu_map function. Following a change in the IOMMU API where iommu_map_sgtable() began returning signed ssize_t error codes instead of unsigned size_t values, the driver continued to use size_t and checked for zero to detect failure. This mismatch causes the driver to miss negative error codes, potentially triggering WARN_ON() macros or failing to propagate critical mapping errors. The fix involves updating the return type to ssize_t and explicitly checking for negative values. This issue affects Qualcomm MSM-based platforms using the IOMMU for graphics memory management.

Affected products

  • Linux Linux 5.15 to 5.15.209, 6.1 to 6.1.175, 6.6 to 6.6.142, 6.12 to 6.12.92, 6.18 to 6.18.34

Timeline

  • 2026-07-19: disclosed
  • 2026-07-19: advisory

References