NULL pointer dereference in Linux

CVE-2026-23060

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: crypto: authencesn - reject too-short AAD (assoclen<8) to match ESP/ESN spec authencesn assumes an ESP/ESN-formatted AAD. When assoclen is shorter than the minimum expected length, crypto_authenc_esn_decrypt() can advance past the end of the destination scatterlist and trigger a NULL pointer dereference in scatterwalk_map_and_copy(), leading to a kernel panic (DoS). Add a minimum AAD length check to fail fast on invalid inputs.

Published · last modified .

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.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.001 (2.2th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 2nd percentile — 2.2% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2026-23060: held from 0.001 to 0.001.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.001 · newest: 0.001 · change: +0.000

Affected products

  • Linux — versions 104880a6b470958ddc30e139c41aa4f6ed3a5234, 4.3, 0
  • Linux Kernel — versions 6.19

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-23060?
CVE-2026-23060 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2026-02-04.
How severe is CVE-2026-23060?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.