CVE-2026-72094
dma-buf: dma-fence: Fix potential NULL pointer dereference
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: dma-buf: dma-fence: Fix potential NULL pointer dereference The commit mentioned in the fixes tag below introduced a mechanism through which fence producers can fully decouple from fence consumers. This, desirable, mechanism is based on the fence's signaled-bit as the "decoupling point". A sophisticated interaction between RCU and atomic instructions attempts to ensure that fence consumers can still interact with fence producers through the dma_fence_ops (callback pointers into the producer). This is the desired behavior: to check for decoupling, the signaled-bit is first checked. If it's not yet signaled, RCU ensures that the ops pointer cannot yet be NULL. Hereby, dma_fence_signal_timestamp_locked() first sets the signaled-bit, and then sets the ops pointer to NULL. Readers first load the ops pointer, and then check through the signaled-bit whether the pointer can legally be accessed. These set and load operations could occur out of order on weakly ordered platforms. This problem can be solved very elegantly by using the ops pointer itself as the synchronization point. The pointer is either NULL, or cannot become NULL while it is being used thanks to RCU. Replace the signaled-bit check in dma_fence_timeline_name() and dma_fence_driver_name().
INFO
Published Date :
Aug. 15, 2026, 6:21 a.m.
Last Modified :
Aug. 17, 2026, 6:18 a.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Solution
- Update the Linux kernel to the latest stable version.
- Verify the patch addressing dma-fence signaling is applied.
- Rebuild and deploy the kernel if necessary.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-72094.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/035219a760edb35ae9a9e96beba7f122e26a997b | |
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/15ecfdf0ef6f6d874d0a26690d300857b39ebfd0 |
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-72094 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-72094
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-72094 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-72094 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
CVE Modified by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Aug. 17, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Changed Affected [{'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': 'f4cc3ab824d6772a48ca9d9c74ac623b3309985d', 'lessThan': '15ecfdf0ef6f6d874d0a26690d300857b39ebfd0', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': 'f4cc3ab824d6772a48ca9d9c74ac623b3309985d', 'lessThan': '035219a760edb35ae9a9e96beba7f122e26a997b', 'versionType': 'git'}], 'programFiles': ['drivers/dma-buf/dma-fence.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '7.1'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '0', 'lessThan': '7.1', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.1.5', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '7.1.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.2-rc2', 'versionType': 'original_commit_for_fix', 'lessThanOrEqual': '*'}], 'programFiles': ['drivers/dma-buf/dma-fence.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}] [{'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': 'f4cc3ab824d6772a48ca9d9c74ac623b3309985d', 'lessThan': '15ecfdf0ef6f6d874d0a26690d300857b39ebfd0', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': 'f4cc3ab824d6772a48ca9d9c74ac623b3309985d', 'lessThan': '035219a760edb35ae9a9e96beba7f122e26a997b', 'versionType': 'git'}], 'programFiles': ['drivers/dma-buf/dma-fence.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '7.1'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '0', 'lessThan': '7.1', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.1.5', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '7.1.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.2', 'versionType': 'original_commit_for_fix', 'lessThanOrEqual': '*'}], 'programFiles': ['drivers/dma-buf/dma-fence.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}] -
New CVE Received by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Aug. 15, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': 'f4cc3ab824d6772a48ca9d9c74ac623b3309985d', 'lessThan': '15ecfdf0ef6f6d874d0a26690d300857b39ebfd0', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': 'f4cc3ab824d6772a48ca9d9c74ac623b3309985d', 'lessThan': '035219a760edb35ae9a9e96beba7f122e26a997b', 'versionType': 'git'}], 'programFiles': ['drivers/dma-buf/dma-fence.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '7.1'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '0', 'lessThan': '7.1', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.1.5', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '7.1.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.2-rc2', 'versionType': 'original_commit_for_fix', 'lessThanOrEqual': '*'}], 'programFiles': ['drivers/dma-buf/dma-fence.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}] Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: dma-buf: dma-fence: Fix potential NULL pointer dereference The commit mentioned in the fixes tag below introduced a mechanism through which fence producers can fully decouple from fence consumers. This, desirable, mechanism is based on the fence's signaled-bit as the "decoupling point". A sophisticated interaction between RCU and atomic instructions attempts to ensure that fence consumers can still interact with fence producers through the dma_fence_ops (callback pointers into the producer). This is the desired behavior: to check for decoupling, the signaled-bit is first checked. If it's not yet signaled, RCU ensures that the ops pointer cannot yet be NULL. Hereby, dma_fence_signal_timestamp_locked() first sets the signaled-bit, and then sets the ops pointer to NULL. Readers first load the ops pointer, and then check through the signaled-bit whether the pointer can legally be accessed. These set and load operations could occur out of order on weakly ordered platforms. This problem can be solved very elegantly by using the ops pointer itself as the synchronization point. The pointer is either NULL, or cannot become NULL while it is being used thanks to RCU. Replace the signaled-bit check in dma_fence_timeline_name() and dma_fence_driver_name(). Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/035219a760edb35ae9a9e96beba7f122e26a997b Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/15ecfdf0ef6f6d874d0a26690d300857b39ebfd0