NULL Pointer Dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-23353
Published: March 25, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU124496
CSH Severity: Low
CVSS v4.0: 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-2026-23353
CWE-ID: CWE-476
Exploitation vector: Local access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vendor: Linux Foundation
Affected software:
Linux kernel
Linux kernel
Detailed vulnerability description
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.
How to mitigate CVE-2026-23353
Install security update from vendor's repository.