Kernel crash via wrong allocation NULL check
Published Feb 18, 2026 · Updated Feb 18, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in the Loongson 64-bit GPIO driver in Linux Kernel 6.18 allows local users to crash the kernel. The loongson_gpio_init_irqchip function checks chip->parent instead of the newly allocated chip->irq.parents pointer, so allocation failure passes validation and permits a later NULL dereference. Exploitation requires a system using the affected Loongson GPIO driver and an allocation failure during IRQ-chip initialization; the grounded consequence is a kernel crash.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in the Loongson 64-bit GPIO driver in Linux Kernel 6.18 allows local users to crash the kernel. The loongson_gpio_init_irqchip function checks chip->parent instead of the newly allocated chip->irq.parents pointer, so allocation failure passes validation and permits a later NULL dereference. Exploitation requires a system using the affected Loongson GPIO driver and an allocation failure during IRQ-chip initialization; the grounded consequence is a kernel crash.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-23218
- Published
- Feb 18, 2026
- Updated
- Feb 18, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-476, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Feb 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Feb 18, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=03c146cb6cd14fdab2d2c7ab1b4e8035b54df8cc <e34f77b09080c86c929153e2a72da26b4f8947ff
- Affected versionversion=03c146cb6cd14fdab2d2c7ab1b4e8035b54df8cc <e71e3fa90a15134113f61343392e887cd1f4bf7c
- Affected versionversion=6.18
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Weakness, pattern, technique
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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