NULL pointer dereference in Linux
CVE-2026-22993
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: idpf: Fix RSS LUT NULL ptr issue after soft reset During soft reset, the RSS LUT is freed and not restored unless the interface is up. If an ethtool command that accesses the rss lut is attempted immediately after reset, it will result in NULL ptr dereference. Also, there is no need to reset the rss lut if the soft reset does not involve queue count change. After soft reset, set the RSS LUT to default values based on the updated queue count only if the reset was a result of a queue count change and the LUT was not configured by the user. In all other cases, don't touch the LUT. Steps to reproduce: ** Bring the interface down (if up) ifconfig eth1 down ** update the queue count (eg., 27->20) ethtool -L eth1 combined 20 ** display the RSS LUT ethtool -x eth1 [82375.558338] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 [82375.558373] #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode [82375.558391] #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page [82375.558408] PGD 0 P4D 0 [82375.558421] Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI <snip> [82375.558516] RIP: 0010:idpf_get_rxfh+0x108/0x150 [idpf] [82375.558786] Call Trace: [82375.558793] <TASK> [82375.558804] rss_prepare.isra.0+0x187/0x2a0 [82375.558827] rss_prepare_data+0x3a/0x50 [82375.558845] ethnl_default_doit+0x13d/0x3e0 [82375.558863] genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0x11f/0x180 [82375.558886] genl_rcv_msg+0x1ad/0x2b0 [82375.558902] ? __pfx_ethnl_default_doit+0x10/0x10 [82375.558920] ? __pfx_genl_rcv_msg+0x10/0x10 [82375.558937] netlink_rcv_skb+0x58/0x100 [82375.558957] genl_rcv+0x2c/0x50 [82375.558971] netlink_unicast+0x289/0x3e0 [82375.558988] netlink_sendmsg+0x215/0x440 [82375.559005] __sys_sendto+0x234/0x240 [82375.559555] __x64_sys_sendto+0x28/0x30 [82375.560068] x64_sys_call+0x1909/0x1da0 [82375.560576] do_syscall_64+0x7a/0xfa0 [82375.561076] ? clear_bhb_loop+0x60/0xb0 [82375.561567] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e <snip>
EPSS: 0.001 (1.8th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 5.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
Affected products
- Linux — versions 02cbfba1add5bd9088c7d14c6b93b77a6ea8f3bb, 6.7, 0
- Linux Linux_kernel — versions 6.19
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-22993?
- CVE-2026-22993 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2026-01-23.
- How severe is CVE-2026-22993?
- Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.