CVE-2026-74442: drm/vmwgfx: avoid destroy_workqueue(NULL) on vkms init failure

Severity: unknown
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-08-15 · updated 2026-08-17

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/vmwgfx: avoid destroy_workqueue(NULL) on vkms init failure Two paths through vmw_vkms_init() can leave vmw->crc_workq NULL while still leaving the rest of the driver in a state that calls vmw_vkms_cleanup() at module unload: 1. vmw_host_get_guestinfo(GUESTINFO_VBLANK, ...) failing or returning an oversized buffer -- the common case on hosts without a VBLANK guestinfo entry -- early-returned before the workqueue allocation. 2. alloc_ordered_workqueue() returning NULL on memory pressure. vmw_vkms_cleanup() then calls destroy_workqueue(NULL), which dereferences wq->name and panics. Fix the first case by removing the early return: vmw->vkms_enabled is already false on the rpci-failure path so no work will ever be queued, and allocating the workqueue unconditionally keeps the control flow simple. Fix the second case by guarding the cleanup with a NULL check, since alloc_ordered_workqueue() can still fail under low memory.

Affected products

Linux kernel: 6.10 — fixed in 7.2

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 7.2. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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