NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel

1) NULL pointer dereference

EUVDB-ID: #VU105660

Risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 4.3 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2025-21846

CWE-ID: CWE-476 - NULL Pointer Dereference

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

The vulnerability exists due to NULL pointer dereference within the do_acct_process(), acct_pin_kill(), close_work(), encode_float() and fill_ac() functions in kernel/acct.c. A local user can perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

Mitigation

Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: 6.13 - 6.13.4

CPE2.3

• cpe:2.3:o:linux_foundation:linux_kernel:6.13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:o:linux_foundation:linux_kernel:6.13.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:o:linux_foundation:linux_kernel:6.13.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:o:linux_foundation:linux_kernel:6.13.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:o:linux_foundation:linux_kernel:6.13.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

External links

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/56d5f3eba3f5de0efdd556de4ef381e109b973a9
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5a59ced8ffc71973d42c82484a719c8f6ac8f7f7
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5c928e14a2ccd99462f2351ead627b58075bb736
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5ee8da9bea70dda492d61f075658939af33d8410
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a8136afca090412a36429cb6c2543c714d9c0f84
https://mirrors.edge.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v6.x/ChangeLog-6.13.5

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.