Kernel crash via unchecked USB serial string
Published Apr 24, 2026 · Updated Apr 24, 2026
NULL-pointer dereference in the Linux Kernel cp2615 I2C driver allows local users to crash the host kernel through a malicious USB device. During device probe, the driver uses the USB device serial string as the I2C adapter name without first checking that the string exists. Exploitation requires local access to connect a serial-less USB device, and the resulting NULL dereference interrupts the host by crashing its kernel.
Summary
What happened
NULL-pointer dereference in the Linux Kernel cp2615 I2C driver allows local users to crash the host kernel through a malicious USB device. During device probe, the driver uses the USB device serial string as the I2C adapter name without first checking that the string exists. Exploitation requires local access to connect a serial-less USB device, and the resulting NULL dereference interrupts the host by crashing its kernel.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-31549
- 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?
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- Affected versionversion=4a7695429eade517b07ea72f9ec366130e81a076 <13ccf9b106bba121728f1625c4375a1bd8f5c5a3
- Affected versionversion=4a7695429eade517b07ea72f9ec366130e81a076 <4a22af879172336370ae3e81e7f65fb2f69472ee
- Affected versionversion=4a7695429eade517b07ea72f9ec366130e81a076 <69aece634a7eebafd9a596e5494d52facf6f26ec
- Affected versionversion=4a7695429eade517b07ea72f9ec366130e81a076 <a9778298f47036866ea15eeb17242e8a4612580f
- Affected versionversion=4a7695429eade517b07ea72f9ec366130e81a076 <aa79f996eb41e95aed85a1bd7f56bcd6a3842008
- Affected versionversion=4a7695429eade517b07ea72f9ec366130e81a076 <e68c267787778bcdf3d91b06f794faaba7f0d1d1
- Affected versionversion=4a7695429eade517b07ea72f9ec366130e81a076 <efe996bcfe50c2dcc6cf65c574285713b722ced7
- Affected versionversion=5.13
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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