CVE-2026-23123

Local kernel crash via uninitialized debugfs string pointers

Published Feb 14, 2026 · Updated Feb 14, 2026

A NULL-pointer dereference in affected Linux Kernel releases allows local users to crash the kernel via an interconnect debugfs read. The test client passes uninitialized src_node and dst_node pointers to debugfs_create_str(), whose read path expects NULL or allocated strings. Triggering the crash requires local access, CONFIG_DEBUG_FS, and a source-modified build that enables the test client, which upstream disables by default.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.12%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

A NULL-pointer dereference in affected Linux Kernel releases allows local users to crash the kernel via an interconnect debugfs read. The test client passes uninitialized src_node and dst_node pointers to debugfs_create_str(), whose read path expects NULL or allocated strings. Triggering the crash requires local access, CONFIG_DEBUG_FS, and a source-modified build that enables the test client, which upstream disables by default.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-23123
Published
Feb 14, 2026
Updated
Feb 14, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
CWE-908, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 14, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 14, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=6.6
  2. Affected versionversion=770c69f037c18cfaa37c3d6c6ef8bd257635513f <5d7c7e1fb3ec24fdd0f9faa27b666d6789e891e8
  3. Affected versionversion=770c69f037c18cfaa37c3d6c6ef8bd257635513f <8cc27f5c6dd17dd090f3a696683f04336c162ff5
  4. Affected versionversion=770c69f037c18cfaa37c3d6c6ef8bd257635513f <935d0938b570589c8b0a1733d2cba3c39d027f25
  5. Affected versionversion=770c69f037c18cfaa37c3d6c6ef8bd257635513f <aa79a5a959c7c414bd6fba01ea8dbaddd44f13e7

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=6.6; version=770c69f037c18cfaa37c3d6c6ef8bd257635513f <5d7c7e1fb3ec24fdd0f9faa27b666d6789e891e8; version=770c69f037c18cfaa37c3d6c6ef8bd257635513f <8cc27f5c6dd17dd090f3a696683f04336c162ff5; version=770c69f037c18cfaa37c3d6c6ef8bd257635513f <935d0938b570589c8b0a1733d2cba3c39d027f25; version=770c69f037c18cfaa37c3d6c6ef8bd257635513f <aa79a5a959c7c414bd6fba01ea8dbaddd44f13e7

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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.

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No observations available

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

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-908Use of Uninitialized Resource
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

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

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