NULL pointer dereference in Linux

CVE-2026-43431

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xhci: Fix NULL pointer dereference when reading portli debugfs files Michal reported and debgged a NULL pointer dereference bug in the recently added portli debugfs files Oops is caused when there are more port registers counted in xhci->max_ports than ports reported by Supported Protocol capabilities. This is possible if max_ports is more than maximum port number, or if there are gaps between ports of different speeds the 'Supported Protocol' capabilities. In such cases port->rhub will be NULL so we can't reach xhci behind it. Add an explicit NULL check for this case, and print portli in hex without dereferencing port->rhub.

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 (3.0th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 3rd percentile — 3.0% 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-2026-43431: 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 384c57ec720597f8104f69082cdd261abb998b80, 6.19, 0
  • Linux Kernel — versions 7.0

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-43431?
CVE-2026-43431 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2026-05-08.
How severe is CVE-2026-43431?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.