CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-53355NVD status: Analyzed

Linux: NULL Pointer Dereference

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-53355 is a critical-severity NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 66cccec111421a10efdc2c74499d15b93e7acae5, 2c5e5e4a5970c41f16e3ad801a78719ed5d5c71b, 29d940026dce39e3018dab6f67c9427249321270 as the first without the flaw, so updating Linux to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.42% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Update Linux to 66cccec111421a10efdc2c74499d15b93e7acae5 or 2c5e5e4a5970c41f16e3ad801a78719ed5d5c71b or 29d940026dce39e3018dab6f67c9427249321270 or e7cf30aa5f1fc6c2a86df65df8b731df20e44d79, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 3.19 or 4.2 or 4.5 or 4.10, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  3. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinux3b12f73a5c2977153f28a224392fd4729b50d1dc up to, but not including, 66cccec111421a10efdc2c74499d15b93e7acae5; 3b12f73a5c2977153f28a224392fd4729b50d1dc up to, but not including, 2c5e5e4a5970c41f16e3ad801a78719ed5d5c71b; 3b12f73a5c2977153f28a224392fd4729b50d1dc up to, but not including, 29d940026dce39e3018dab6f67c9427249321270; 3b12f73a5c2977153f28a224392fd4729b50d1dc up to, but not including, e7cf30aa5f1fc6c2a86df65df8b731df20e44d79; 3b12f73a5c2977153f28a224392fd4729b50d1dc up to, but not including, f16ad421a4e3e7db2d14bdf3b16f583bc4f3b30a; 3b12f73a5c2977153f28a224392fd4729b50d1dc up to, but not including, 1d4ec754ee3871f7e3670c67bb0298c9c5760926; 3b12f73a5c2977153f28a224392fd4729b50d1dc up to, but not including, 27040bbca289a704eafcacca167d310c6ce2b1bc; 3b12f73a5c2977153f28a224392fd4729b50d1dc up to, but not including, 20cf0fb715c41111469577e85e35d15f099473e0; and 9 more ranges66cccec111421a10efdc2c74499d15b93e7acae5, 2c5e5e4a5970c41f16e3ad801a78719ed5d5c71b, 29d940026dce39e3018dab6f67c9427249321270, e7cf30aa5f1fc6c2a86df65df8b731df20e44d79, f16ad421a4e3e7db2d14bdf3b16f583bc4f3b30a, 1d4ec754ee3871f7e3670c67bb0298c9c5760926
LinuxLinux Kernel3.18.74 up to, but not including, 3.19; 4.1.46 up to, but not including, 4.2; 4.4.91 up to, but not including, 4.5; 4.9.54 up to, but not including, 4.10; 4.11.1 up to, but not including, 5.10.259; 5.11 up to, but not including, 5.15.210; 5.16 up to, but not including, 6.1.176; 6.2 up to, but not including, 6.6.143; and 5 more ranges3.19, 4.2, 4.5, 4.10, 5.10.259, 5.15.210

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
NoneNo account or login is needed.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA.

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: rds: clear i_sends on setup unwind The RDS IB connection teardown path is written so it can run during partial startup and on repeated shutdown attempts. It uses NULL pointers to distinguish resources that are still owned from resources that have already been released. When rds_ib_setup_qp() fails after allocating i_sends but before allocating i_recvs, the sends_out path frees i_sends without clearing the pointer. A later shutdown pass can still treat that stale pointer as a live send ring allocation. Clear i_sends after vfree() in the error unwind path so the existing shutdown logic continues to use the correct ownership state.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: NULL Pointer Dereference

The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • For any pointers that could have been modified or provided from a function that can return NULL, check the pointer for NULL before use. When working with a multithreaded or otherwise asynchronous environment, ensure that proper locking APIs are used to lock before the check, and unlock when it has finished.
  • Select a programming language that is not susceptible to these issues.
  • Check the results of all functions that return a value and verify that the value is non-null before acting upon it.

More NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerabilities (CWE-476)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerabilities

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