CVE-2026-23332

System crash via offline-CPU NULL dereference

Published Mar 25, 2026 · Updated Mar 25, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in the Linux Kernel 6.16 intel_pstate driver allows local users to crash the system by disabling turbo. store_no_turbo iterates possible CPUs and dereferences NULL all_cpu_data[] entries for offline CPUs when updating maximum frequency. The trigger requires an Intel system booted with nosmt or maxcpus and write access to the no_turbo sysfs attribute, which typically requires root privileges.

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

NULL pointer dereference in the Linux Kernel 6.16 intel_pstate driver allows local users to crash the system by disabling turbo. store_no_turbo iterates possible CPUs and dereferences NULL all_cpu_data[] entries for offline CPUs when updating maximum frequency. The trigger requires an Intel system booted with nosmt or maxcpus and write access to the no_turbo sysfs attribute, which typically requires root privileges.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-23332
Published
Mar 25, 2026
Updated
Mar 25, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Mar 25, 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=6.16
  2. Affected versionversion=973207ae3d7c3c92df4a382df5d7bd695deaa904 <6b050482ec40569429d963ac52afa878691b04c9
  3. Affected versionversion=973207ae3d7c3c92df4a382df5d7bd695deaa904 <a1850e2aef4d15405e7ff53fd51c4b3124d46182
  4. Affected versionversion=973207ae3d7c3c92df4a382df5d7bd695deaa904 <d20d48916ce8531b157c2edeba76d69af2974270

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=6.16; version=973207ae3d7c3c92df4a382df5d7bd695deaa904 <6b050482ec40569429d963ac52afa878691b04c9; version=973207ae3d7c3c92df4a382df5d7bd695deaa904 <a1850e2aef4d15405e7ff53fd51c4b3124d46182; version=973207ae3d7c3c92df4a382df5d7bd695deaa904 <d20d48916ce8531b157c2edeba76d69af2974270

Published CVSS scores

5.5Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

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

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Your stack

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