NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-99074
Published: October 23, 2026
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a local user to cause a denial of service by triggering a kernel NULL pointer dereference.
The vulnerability exists due to a NULL pointer dereference in the IPv4 PMTU update path in net/ipv4/route.c when a nexthop group shrinks during path iteration. A local user can replace a nexthop group concurrently with PMTU updates so that fib_info_nhc() returns NULL for a previously accepted index, causing update_or_create_fnhe() to dereference it and crash the kernel.
Nexthop group replacement requires CAP_NET_ADMIN in the network namespace. Where unprivileged user namespaces are permitted, this capability can be obtained in a new user and network namespace.
Affected software
Ubuntu
linux (Ubuntu package)
linux-lowlatency (Ubuntu package)
linux-raspi (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure (Ubuntu package)
linux-gcp (Ubuntu package)
linux-aws (Ubuntu package)
linux-ibm (Ubuntu package)
linux-oracle (Ubuntu package)
linux-nvidia (Ubuntu package)
linux-realtime (Ubuntu package)
linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8 (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-fde-6.8 (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-6.8 (Ubuntu package)
linux-oracle-6.8 (Ubuntu package)
linux-aws-6.8 (Ubuntu package)
linux-gkeop (Ubuntu package)
linux-gke (Ubuntu package)
linux-vmware (Ubuntu package)
linux-ibm-6.8 (Ubuntu package)
linux-gcp-6.8 (Ubuntu package)
linux-aws-fips (Ubuntu package)
linux-gcp-fips (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-fips (Ubuntu package)
linux-raspi-realtime (Ubuntu package)
linux-realtime-6.8 (Ubuntu package)
linux-oracle-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-fde-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
linux-gcp-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
linux-oem-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-fde (Ubuntu package)
linux-aws-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
How to mitigate CVE-2026-99074
linux (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-149.149, 7.0.0-43.43
linux-lowlatency (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-149.149.1
linux-raspi (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-1068.72, 7.0.0-1023.23
linux-azure (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-1073.82, 7.0.0-1020.21
linux-gcp (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-1073.81, 7.0.0-1017.19
linux-aws (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-1069.74, 7.0.0-1017.18
linux-ibm (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-1069.70, 7.0.0-1018.18
linux-oracle (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-1067.71, 7.0.0-1016.18
linux-nvidia (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1067.70
linux-realtime (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.1-1064.65, 7.0.0-43.43.1
linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-149.149.1~22.04.1
linux-azure-fde-6.8 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1071.78~22.04.1
linux-azure-6.8 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1073.82~22.04.1
linux-oracle-6.8 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1067.71~22.04.1
linux-aws-6.8 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1069.74~22.04.1
linux-gkeop (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1053.57
linux-gke (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-1068.77, 7.0.0-1010.11
linux-vmware (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1010.10
linux-ibm-6.8 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1069.70~22.04.1
linux-gcp-6.8 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1073.81~22.04.1
linux-aws-fips (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1069.74+fips1
linux-gcp-fips (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1073.81+fips1
linux-azure-fips (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1073.82+fips1
linux-raspi-realtime (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-2056.58
linux-realtime-6.8 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.1-1064.65~22.04.1
linux-oracle-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1016.18~24.04.1
linux-azure-fde-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1019.19~24.04.1
linux-gcp-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1017.19~24.04.1
linux-oem-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1018.18
linux-azure-fde (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1019.19
linux-aws-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1017.18~24.04.1
External References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6619e01855e65ef35723685a557e3eb106f4ecf5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7fd60d3c9a1e1b11ef5f1643bbae78d91eae2f4a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c60d17d6dd61adc761ac6f65a008fefbc54cbf87
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c6d670ac656badfd0e15355e07a13a6bdf3b69fd
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f27483f9975b5065ff67054cc7eb8edac6083488
Related Security Bulletins
- NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel ipv4
- Ubuntu update for linux, linux-aws, linux-gcp and more
- Ubuntu update for linux-azure
- Ubuntu update for linux-aws-7.0, linux-azure-fde, linux-azure-fde-7.0 and more
- Ubuntu update for linux-aws-fips, linux-gcp-fips, linux-gkeop and more
- Ubuntu update for linux-azure-6.8, linux-azure-fde-6.8
- Ubuntu update for linux-oracle-6.8, linux-raspi, linux-raspi-realtime
- Ubuntu update for linux-aws-6.8, linux-gcp-6.8, linux-ibm-6.8 and more
- Ubuntu update for linux, linux-aws, linux-azure and more
- Ubuntu update for linux-raspi