---
id: "CVE-2026-98781"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-98781"]
title: "Linux kernel: MediaTek DRM bind leaks a device reference on non-master path"
severity: "low"
cvss: null
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "infrastructure"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["embedded", "infrastructure", "linux-kernel", "mediatek-soc"]
not_affected_if: ["no-mediatek-drm"]
published_at: "2026-10-18T16:17:32+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-23T21:57:16+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-25T05:15:22+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98781", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T21:57:16+00:00"}]
---

# Linux kernel: MediaTek DRM bind leaks a device reference on non-master path

In the Linux kernel's MediaTek DRM driver, mtk_drm_bind() takes a reference to the disp-mutex device and returns early on non-master devices without releasing it. The fix drops that reference before the early return.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## How to check

- unknown

## Fix

- Update the Linux kernel to a release that includes the upstream commit fixing mtk_drm_bind() (drm/mediatek: Fix pdev reference leak); the sources do not name a fixed version.

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23T21:57:16+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98781

## From the sources

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

drm/mediatek: Fix pdev reference leak in mtk_drm_bind()

When the device is not the mmsys master, mtk_drm_bind() returns early
after taking a reference on the disp-mutex device via
of_find_device_by_node(), without ever dropping it: mtk_drm_unbind()
only puts mutex_dev for the master. Drop the reference before returning
from the non-master path.

---

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