Linux Kernel up to 6.18.20/6.19.10 i915 unlink_nv12_plane privilege escalation

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.20/6.19.10. Affected is the function unlink_nv12_plane of the component i915. Executing a manipulation can lead to an unknown weakness. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2026-31571. No exploit is available. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.20/6.19.10. This vulnerability affects the function unlink_nv12_plane of the component i915. The impact remains unknown. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/i915: Unlink NV12 planes earlier unlink_nv12_plane() will clobber parts of the plane state potentially already set up by plane_atomic_check(), so we must make sure not to call the two in the wrong order. The problem happens when a plane previously selected as a Y plane is now configured as a normal plane by user space. plane_atomic_check() will first compute the proper plane state based on the userspace request, and unlink_nv12_plane() later clears some of the state. This used to work on account of unlink_nv12_plane() skipping the state clearing based on the plane visibility. But I removed that check, thinking it was an impossible situation. Now when that situation happens unlink_nv12_plane() will just WARN and proceed to clobber the state. Rather than reverting to the old way of doing things, I think it's more clear if we unlink the NV12 planes before we even compute the new plane state. (cherry picked from commit 017ecd04985573eeeb0745fa2c23896fb22ee0cc)

The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-31571 since 03/09/2026. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $0-$5k (estimation calculated on 07/31/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.18.21 or 6.19.11 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 70e2eb91cb6310a3508439f6f2539dfffa0abf77/12f3b6cbab8fbeb95097685b40f0147406cf9746/bfa71b7a9dc6b5b8af157686e03308291141d00c is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2026-1279). Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Google Container-Optimized OS
• Debian Linux
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• SUSE openSUSE
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• Siemens SIMATIC S7
• Proxmox Virtual Environment

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.18.16
• 6.18.17
• 6.18.18
• 6.18.19
• 6.18.20
• 6.19.0
• 6.19.1
• 6.19.2
• 6.19.3
• 6.19.4
• 6.19.5
• 6.19.6
• 6.19.7
• 6.19.8
• 6.19.9
• 6.19.10

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

CVSSv3info

CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

Discussion