CVE-2026-23467 PUBLISHED

drm/i915/dmc: Fix an unlikely NULL pointer deference at probe

Assigner: Linux
Reserved: 13.01.2026 Published: 03.04.2026 Updated: 03.04.2026

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

drm/i915/dmc: Fix an unlikely NULL pointer deference at probe

intel_dmc_update_dc6_allowed_count() oopses when DMC hasn't been initialized, and dmc is thus NULL.

That would be the case when the call path is intel_power_domains_init_hw() -> {skl,bxt,icl}_display_core_init() -> gen9_set_dc_state() -> intel_dmc_update_dc6_allowed_count(), as intel_power_domains_init_hw() is called before intel_dmc_init().

However, gen9_set_dc_state() calls intel_dmc_update_dc6_allowed_count() conditionally, depending on the current and target DC states. At probe, the target is disabled, but if DC6 is enabled, the function is called, and an oops follows. Apparently it's quite unlikely that DC6 is enabled at probe, as we haven't seen this failure mode before.

It is also strange to have DC6 enabled at boot, since that would require the DMC firmware (loaded by BIOS); the BIOS loading the DMC firmware and the driver stopping / reprogramming the firmware is a poorly specified sequence and as such unlikely an intentional BIOS behaviour. It's more likely that BIOS is leaving an unintentionally enabled DC6 HW state behind (without actually loading the required DMC firmware for this).

The tracking of the DC6 allowed counter only works if starting / stopping the counter depends on the SW DC6 state vs. the current HW DC6 state (since stopping the counter requires the DC5 counter captured when the counter was started). Thus, using the HW DC6 state is incorrect and it also leads to the above oops. Fix both issues by using the SW DC6 state for the tracking.

This is v2 of the fix originally sent by Jani, updated based on the first Link: discussion below.

(cherry picked from commit 2344b93af8eb5da5d496b4e0529d35f0f559eaf0)

Product Status

Vendor Linux
Product Linux
Versions Default: unaffected
  • affected from 88c1f9a4d36de61f87cc52aac670020b13d1ccaa to 0b35d11fbbcfd1079c8489282a341944228835e3 (excl.)
  • affected from 88c1f9a4d36de61f87cc52aac670020b13d1ccaa to 631317825d44283abfe7a8374f13a76ce2032bb8 (excl.)
  • affected from 88c1f9a4d36de61f87cc52aac670020b13d1ccaa to ac57eb3b7d2ad649025b5a0fa207315f755ac4f6 (excl.)
Vendor Linux
Product Linux
Versions Default: affected
  • Version 6.16 is affected
  • unaffected from 0 to 6.16 (excl.)
  • unaffected from 6.18.20 to 6.18.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 6.19.10 to 6.19.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 7.0-rc5 to * (incl.)

References