SB20260816375 - NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel ocfs2



SB20260816375 - NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel ocfs2

Published: August 16, 2026

Security Bulletin ID SB20260816375
CSH Severity
Low
Patch available
YES
Number of vulnerabilities 1
Exploitation vector Local access
Highest impact Denial of service

Breakdown by Severity

Low 100%
  • Low
  • Medium
  • High
  • Critical

Description

This security bulletin contains information about 1 vulnerability.


1) NULL pointer dereference (CVE-ID: CVE-2026-72161)

CWE-ID: CWE-476 - NULL Pointer Dereference

CVSSv4: 6.8 [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]


The vulnerability allows a local user to cause a denial of service.

The vulnerability exists due to a NULL pointer dereference in ocfs2_checkpoint_inode() when evicting cached inodes during unmount. A local user can trigger inode eviction after journal shutdown to cause a denial of service.

The issue occurs because the journal may already have been freed and set to NULL during shutdown before remaining cached inodes are evicted.


Remediation

Install update from vendor's website.