Remote kernel crash via NULL header context
Published Mar 18, 2026 · Updated Mar 18, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in the Linux Kernel allows remote attackers to crash affected systems through malformed Soft-iWARP headers. When siw_get_hdr() rejects a header before set_rx_fpdu_context() initializes qp->rx_fpdu, siw_tcp_rx_data() follows its error path and reads more_ddp_segs through the NULL pointer. The Soft-iWARP RDMA driver must be enabled and network-reachable; the reported consequence is a kernel crash without data disclosure or modification.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in the Linux Kernel allows remote attackers to crash affected systems through malformed Soft-iWARP headers. When siw_get_hdr() rejects a header before set_rx_fpdu_context() initializes qp->rx_fpdu, siw_tcp_rx_data() follows its error path and reads more_ddp_segs through the NULL pointer. The Soft-iWARP RDMA driver must be enabled and network-reachable; the reported consequence is a kernel crash without data disclosure or modification.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-23242
- Published
- Mar 18, 2026
- Updated
- Mar 18, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- T1499
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Mar 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Mar 18, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=5.3
- Affected versionversion=8b6a361b8c482f22ac99c3273285ff16b23fba91 <14ab3da122bd18920ad57428f6cf4fade8385142
- Affected versionversion=8b6a361b8c482f22ac99c3273285ff16b23fba91 <714c99e1dc8f85f446e05be02ba83972e981a817
- Affected versionversion=8b6a361b8c482f22ac99c3273285ff16b23fba91 <8564dcc12fbb372d984ab45768cae9335777b274
- Affected versionversion=8b6a361b8c482f22ac99c3273285ff16b23fba91 <87b7a036d2c73d5bb3ae2d47dee23de465db3355
- Affected versionversion=8b6a361b8c482f22ac99c3273285ff16b23fba91 <ab61841633d10e56a58c1493a262f0d02dba2f5e
- Affected versionversion=8b6a361b8c482f22ac99c3273285ff16b23fba91 <ab957056192d6bd068b3759cb2077d859cca01f0
- Affected versionversion=8b6a361b8c482f22ac99c3273285ff16b23fba91 <ce025f7f5d070596194315eb2e4e89d568b8a755
- Affected versionversion=8b6a361b8c482f22ac99c3273285ff16b23fba91 <ffba40b67663567481fa8a1ed5d2da36897c175d
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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