NULL pointer dereference in Linux
CVE-2026-98059
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Mark sched_process_wait argument as nullable do_wait() passes wo->wo_pid to the sched_process_wait tracepoint. kernel_wait4() leaves wo_pid NULL for wait4(-1), and kernel_waitid_prepare() does likewise for waitid(P_ALL). btf_ctx_access() currently types argument 0 as PTR_TO_BTF_ID | PTR_TRUSTED. Without PTR_MAYBE_NULL, the verifier accepts an unchecked dereference. Trusted pointer loads have no fault protection, so a wait for any child can then cause a NULL pointer dereference in JITed BPF code. Add sched_process_wait to raw_tp_null_args[] with argument 0 marked nullable. The verifier rejects an unchecked dereference while preserving access after the program checks the pointer for NULL.
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 (2.0th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 2nd percentile — 2.0% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.001 · change: -0.000
Affected products
- Linux — versions 6.13
- Linux Kernel — versions 6.13, 7.3
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-98059?
- CVE-2026-98059 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2026-09-25.
- How severe is CVE-2026-98059?
- Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.