CVE-2026-23041

Kernel crash via post-cleanup DMA allocation

Published Feb 4, 2026 · Updated Feb 4, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in bnxt_en in Linux Kernel 6.18 through 6.18.5 and 6.19-rc1 through 6.19-rc4 allows attackers to crash the kernel. During failed initialization, bnxt_free_hwrm_resources destroys and nulls the HWRM DMA pool before bnxt_ptp_clear triggers bnxt_ptp_enable, whose HWRM request allocation dereferences that null pool. Reachability requires the bnxt_en driver, registered PTP state, and an initialization failure; the reported consequence is a kernel crash rather than code execution or data access.

CVSS severityUnavailable
Unscored
EPSS probability0.15%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

NULL pointer dereference in bnxt_en in Linux Kernel 6.18 through 6.18.5 and 6.19-rc1 through 6.19-rc4 allows attackers to crash the kernel. During failed initialization, bnxt_free_hwrm_resources destroys and nulls the HWRM DMA pool before bnxt_ptp_clear triggers bnxt_ptp_enable, whose HWRM request allocation dereferences that null pool. Reachability requires the bnxt_en driver, registered PTP state, and an initialization failure; the reported consequence is a kernel crash rather than code execution or data access.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-23041
Published
Feb 4, 2026
Updated
Feb 4, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
Unavailable
Attack vector
Unavailable
Privileges
Unavailable

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 4, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 4, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=6.18
  2. Affected versionversion=a60fc3294a377204664b5484e4a487fa124155da <0174d5466caefc22f03a36c43b2a3cce7e332627
  3. Affected versionversion=a60fc3294a377204664b5484e4a487fa124155da <3358995b1a7f9dcb52a56ec8251570d71024dad0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorUnavailable in this record.
Required privilegesUnavailable in this record.

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=6.18; version=a60fc3294a377204664b5484e4a487fa124155da <0174d5466caefc22f03a36c43b2a3cce7e332627; version=a60fc3294a377204664b5484e4a487fa124155da <3358995b1a7f9dcb52a56ec8251570d71024dad0

Published CVSS scores

No CVSS assessment is available in this record.

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
VectorUnavailable
PrivilegesUnavailable
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

No sourced classifications are available.

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo