NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-98294

Vulnerability identifier: #VU153734

CSH Severity: Low

CVSS v4: 6.7 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]

CVE-ID: CVE-2026-98294

CWE-ID: CWE-476

Exploitation vector: Local access

Exploit availability: No public exploit available

The vulnerability allows a local privileged user to cause a denial of service.

The vulnerability exists due to a null pointer dereference in the Bluetooth hci_qca power-off handling when accessing a serial port that has already been closed. A local privileged user can unbind the driver after a controller failure to cause a denial of service.

The failure sequence involves hci_dev_open_sync() failing after qca_setup() succeeds on a controller with HCI_QUIRK_NON_PERSISTENT_SETUP set. The close operation leaves power->vregs_on true, allowing the removal path to enter power-off handling.

Linux kernel
Ubuntu
linux (Ubuntu package)
linux-aws (Ubuntu package)
linux-gcp (Ubuntu package)
linux-oracle (Ubuntu package)
linux-ibm (Ubuntu package)
linux-hwe-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
linux-oem-7.0 (Ubuntu package)

Install security update from vendor's repository.

Linux kernel - update to 7.0 rc3
linux (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-42.42
linux-aws (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1016.17
linux-gcp (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1016.18
linux-oracle (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1015.16
linux-ibm (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1017.17
linux-hwe-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-42.42~24.04.1
linux-oem-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1017.17

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/15754e4ec47ac5d117c9609c34a49ed6980ac4a1
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4e93c65f87825e1e012bce56615320aeb123815d
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a5414b0a9464b863733c8bd97493cb443a210ec4

• NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel bluetooth driver
• Ubuntu update for linux-oem-7.0
• Ubuntu update for linux, linux-aws, linux-gcp and more