NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-53328
Published: July 2, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU136724
CSH Severity: Low
CVSS v4: 4.8 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-53328
CWE-ID: CWE-476
Exploitation vector: Local access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a local user to cause a denial of service.
The vulnerability exists due to improper handling of a NULL pointer state in scx_cgroup_move_task() when processing cgroup migration events under a sched_ext scheduler. A local user can trigger cgroup subtree_control changes to cause a kernel warning and destabilize the system.
The issue occurs when migration is driven by css identity rather than cgroup identity, allowing a legitimate css-only migration to reach the function with cgrp_moving_from unset.
Affected software
Linux kernel
Ubuntu
linux (Ubuntu package)
linux-gcp-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
linux-oem-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
Ubuntu
linux (Ubuntu package)
linux-gcp-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
linux-oem-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
How to mitigate CVE-2026-53328
Install security update from vendor's repository.
Linux kernel - update to 7.0 rc3
linux (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 7.0.0-31.31, 7.0.0-31.31.1, 7.0.0-31.31~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1006.7, 7.0.0-1011.11~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1012.12, 7.0.0-1012.12~24.04.1
linux-gcp-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1011.11~24.04.1
linux-oem-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1013.13
linux (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 7.0.0-31.31, 7.0.0-31.31.1, 7.0.0-31.31~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1006.7, 7.0.0-1011.11~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1012.12, 7.0.0-1012.12~24.04.1
linux-gcp-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1011.11~24.04.1
linux-oem-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1013.13