NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-74442
Published: August 16, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU143340
CSH Severity: Low
CVSS v4: 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]
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-74442
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 a NULL pointer dereference in vmw_vkms_cleanup() when cleaning up the vmwgfx vkms workqueue after initialization failure. A local user can trigger module initialization failure and subsequent cleanup to cause a denial of service.
The issue is triggered when vmw_vkms_init() leaves crc_workq unset and later module unload invokes cleanup.
Affected software
Linux kernel
Debian Linux
linux (Debian package)
Debian Linux
linux (Debian package)
How to mitigate CVE-2026-74442
Install security update from vendor's repository.
Linux kernel - update to 7.0 rc3
linux (Debian package) - update to 6.12.105-1
linux (Debian package) - update to 6.12.105-1