CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-72035NVD status: Received

Linux: NULL Pointer Dereference

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-72035 is a high-severity NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.2 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 51f8af240aed903e988755af33d7491030b50ae9, 17ab5f76f3899f67e5569722f334591f4b88b17b, f60d5c12e0551012cee5c272b0bcbcc78f7bb506 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 0.59% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update Linux to 51f8af240aed903e988755af33d7491030b50ae9 or 17ab5f76f3899f67e5569722f334591f4b88b17b or f60d5c12e0551012cee5c272b0bcbcc78f7bb506 or 6ee5a7665a9080bcb05d703bf981a579436fd05e, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. 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
LinuxLinux5a781ccbd19e4664babcbe4b4ead7aa2b9283d22 up to, but not including, 51f8af240aed903e988755af33d7491030b50ae9; 5a781ccbd19e4664babcbe4b4ead7aa2b9283d22 up to, but not including, 17ab5f76f3899f67e5569722f334591f4b88b17b; 5a781ccbd19e4664babcbe4b4ead7aa2b9283d22 up to, but not including, f60d5c12e0551012cee5c272b0bcbcc78f7bb506; 5a781ccbd19e4664babcbe4b4ead7aa2b9283d22 up to, but not including, 6ee5a7665a9080bcb05d703bf981a579436fd05e; 5a781ccbd19e4664babcbe4b4ead7aa2b9283d22 up to, but not including, 18d580cb00c55805633bae45e90cf22ed6b8e424; 5a781ccbd19e4664babcbe4b4ead7aa2b9283d22 up to, but not including, e2b7ee61989f2d39df6c2cc06f9db1aea69bdb09; 5a781ccbd19e4664babcbe4b4ead7aa2b9283d22 up to, but not including, 2dcebbd1ad2e180fe7b98bf346ced69a872e11e6; 5a781ccbd19e4664babcbe4b4ead7aa2b9283d22 up to, but not including, e056e1dfcddca877dd46d704e8ec9860cfc9ec44; and 1 more ranges51f8af240aed903e988755af33d7491030b50ae9, 17ab5f76f3899f67e5569722f334591f4b88b17b, f60d5c12e0551012cee5c272b0bcbcc78f7bb506, 6ee5a7665a9080bcb05d703bf981a579436fd05e, 18d580cb00c55805633bae45e90cf22ed6b8e424, e2b7ee61989f2d39df6c2cc06f9db1aea69bdb09

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
NoneNo data is disclosed.
Integrity
LowLimited modification of data is possible.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

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

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/sched: sch_taprio: Replace direct dequeue call with peek and qdisc_dequeue_peeked When taprio's software path peeks a non-work-conserving child qdisc, the child stashes the peeked skb in its gso_skb; taprio_dequeue_from_txq() then takes the packet with a direct child ->dequeue() call, which ignores that stash, orphans the peeked skb and desyncs the child's qlen/backlog. With a qfq child this re-enters the child on an emptied list and dereferences NULL, panicking the kernel from softirq on ordinary egress. Take the packet through qdisc_dequeue_peeked(), as sch_red and sch_sfb now do. The helper returns the child's stashed skb first and is a no-op when there is none, so a work-conserving child is unaffected and the gated path now consumes the skb whose length was charged to the budget.

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. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: partial).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerabilities

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