NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-45966
Published: May 28, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU132523
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-2026-45966
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.
The vulnerability exists due to a NULL pointer dereference in __unix_needs_revalidation() when receiving file descriptors via SCM_RIGHTS during socket setup or teardown. A local user can send file descriptors in this state to cause a denial of service.
The issue is triggered because the function accesses sock->sk->sk_family without checking whether sock or sock->sk is NULL.
How to mitigate CVE-2026-45966
Install security update from vendor's repository.