NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-31638

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Main Vulnerability Database Vulnerabilities #VU127752

NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-31638

Published: April 25, 2026


Vulnerability identifier: #VU127752
CSH Severity: Medium
CVSS v4: 8.7 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-31638
CWE-ID: CWE-476
Exploitation vector: Remote access
Exploit availability: No public exploit available

Vulnerability details

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to cause a denial of service.

The vulnerability exists due to improper handling of a NULL pointer reference in rxrpc_input_packet_on_conn() when processing a to-client packet after the current client call on the channel has already been torn down. A remote attacker can send a crafted packet to cause a denial of service.

The issue occurs on the client-side implicit-end error path when chan->call is NULL and no call reference was acquired.


Affected software

Linux kernel
Debian Linux
Ubuntu
linux (Ubuntu package)
linux-fips (Ubuntu package)
linux-hwe-6.8 (Ubuntu package)
linux-ibm (Ubuntu package)
linux-oracle-6.8 (Ubuntu package)
linux-nvidia (Ubuntu package)
linux-aws-6.8 (Ubuntu package)
linux-aws (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-fde (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-fde-6.8 (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-fips (Ubuntu package)
linux-gcp-fips (Ubuntu package)
linux (Debian package)

How to mitigate CVE-2026-31638

Install security update from vendor's repository.

Linux kernel - update to 7.0 rc3
linux (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-136.136, 6.8.0-1046.50, 6.8.0-1059.67, 6.8.0-1064.72, 6.8.0-1064.72~22.04.1, 6.8.1-1056.57, 6.8.1-1056.57~22.04.2
linux-fips (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-136.136+fips2, 6.8.0-136.136.2, 6.8.0-136.136.2~22.04.1, 6.8.0-1058.61
linux-hwe-6.8 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-136.136~22.04.1
linux-ibm (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-1030.31, 6.8.0-1033.34, 6.8.0-1061.62, 6.8.0-1061.62~22.04.1
linux-oracle-6.8 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1058.61~22.04.1
linux-nvidia (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-1059.62, 6.8.0-1059.62.1, 6.8.0-1059.62~22.04.1
linux-aws-6.8 (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-1061.64+fips1, 6.8.0-1061.64~22.04.1
linux-aws (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1061.64+1
linux-azure-fde (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1062.69
linux-azure-fde-6.8 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1062.69~22.04.1
linux-azure (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-1063.71, 6.8.0-1063.71~22.04.1
linux-azure-fips (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1063.71+fips2
linux-gcp-fips (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1064.72+fips1
linux (Debian package) - update to 6.12.85-1

External References

Related Security Bulletins