Local system crash via NULL handler dereference
Published Apr 24, 2026 · Updated Apr 24, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in Linux Kernel 6.17 allows local users to crash the system through an ARM SCMI notification error path. The __scmi_event_handler_get_ops helper can return NULL when no event handler exists, although its callers expect an ERR_PTR and dereference the result. Reachability requires local low-privileged access to a system using ARM SCMI notifications; successful exploitation interrupts availability by crashing the kernel.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in Linux Kernel 6.17 allows local users to crash the system through an ARM SCMI notification error path. The __scmi_event_handler_get_ops helper can return NULL when no event handler exists, although its callers expect an ERR_PTR and dereference the result. Reachability requires local low-privileged access to a system using ARM SCMI notifications; successful exploitation interrupts availability by crashing the kernel.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-31544
- Published
- Apr 24, 2026
- Updated
- Apr 24, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-476, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Apr 24, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 24, 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.
- Affected versionversion=6.17
- Affected versionversion=b5daf93b809d13a194f8a8eeacfab1cfa241bbc3 <555317d6100164748f7d09f80142739bd29f0cda
- Affected versionversion=b5daf93b809d13a194f8a8eeacfab1cfa241bbc3 <70d9bd9a2e683afe6200b0c20af22f06f1a199a4
- Affected versionversion=b5daf93b809d13a194f8a8eeacfab1cfa241bbc3 <8414d2800c34528467df23ce6192c254a73e4459
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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Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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