SB2026032599 - NULL Pointer Dereference in Linux kernel intel ice driver

Description

This security bulletin contains information about 1 vulnerability.

1) NULL Pointer Dereference (CVE-ID: CVE-2026-23353)

CWE-ID: CWE-476 - NULL Pointer Dereference

CVSSv4: 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

The vulnerability allows a local user to cause a denial of service (system crash) due to a NULL pointer dereference.

The vulnerability exists due to improper initialization in the ice network driver's Rx ring when handling ethtool offline loopback tests. A local user can execute a specially crafted ethtool command to trigger a NULL pointer dereference, leading to a kernel crash.

The issue specifically occurs because the libeth interface is not initialized for the receive ring in loopback test virtual switch instances (VSI), resulting in a NULL pointer dereference during buffer allocation.

Remediation

Install update from vendor's website.

References

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/85c98b81849e4724ae99005a6cccd33cab9cfd18
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a9c354e656597aededa027d63d2ff0973f6b033f