Kernel crash via unchecked ktype dereference
Published Feb 24, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel 6.6 before 6.6.18 and 6.7 before 6.7.6 allows local users to crash the kernel. The __kobject_del cleanup path dereferences kobj->ktype after the regression removed NULL checks, producing a general-protection fault and kernel panic when a kobject lacks a type. A low-privileged local context is required, and the demonstrated consequence is a system crash rather than data access or modification.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel 6.6 before 6.6.18 and 6.7 before 6.7.6 allows local users to crash the kernel. The __kobject_del cleanup path dereferences kobj->ktype after the regression removed NULL checks, producing a general-protection fault and kernel panic when a kobject lacks a type. A low-privileged local context is required, and the demonstrated consequence is a system crash rather than data access or modification.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-26604
- Published
- Feb 24, 2024
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-476, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Feb 24, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=1b28cb81dab7c1eedc6034206f4e8d644046ad31 <3ca8fbabcceb8bfe44f7f50640092fd8f1de375c
- Affected versionversion=1b28cb81dab7c1eedc6034206f4e8d644046ad31 <7f414d306320f837cc3df96cf52161cb8290fb1b
- Affected versionversion=1b28cb81dab7c1eedc6034206f4e8d644046ad31 <b746d52ce7bcac325a2fa264216ead85b7fbbfaa
- Affected versionversion=6.6
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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