Local kernel crash via detached gadget dereference
Published May 1, 2026 · Updated May 1, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in affected Linux Kernel releases allows local users to crash the kernel through an ethtool driver-info query. During USB gadget unbind, reparenting clears dev->gadget while the network interface survives, and eth_get_drvinfo dereferences it while copying driver information. A local user must query the surviving USB gadget Ethernet interface during the detached window, producing a kernel crash and service interruption.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in affected Linux Kernel releases allows local users to crash the kernel through an ethtool driver-info query. During USB gadget unbind, reparenting clears dev->gadget while the network interface survives, and eth_get_drvinfo dereferences it while copying driver information. A local user must query the surviving USB gadget Ethernet interface during the detached window, producing a kernel crash and service interruption.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-31727
- Published
- May 1, 2026
- Updated
- May 1, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-476, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 1, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 1, 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=6.12.78 <6.12.81
- Affected versionversion=6.18.19 <6.18.22
- Affected versionversion=6.19.9 <6.19.12
- Affected versionversion=85acaba2f42b557499bab3608307f17bf13beb69 <7de4d46be40738c7e48e64b5cc0a34aa1e047b0a
- Affected versionversion=93f116c3393a22acab96ad1bef12b2572eb80ca4 <0326429e8ba99892e1d1e115dc8e88e1a3b64e24
- Affected versionversion=e584cb58a2ea7ff4d3a4bc43d5ca512ed3ecb77d <a36e5e800b9c93e3e1ffa42f34d38b36775dbcee
- Affected versionversion=ec35c1969650e7cb6c8a91020e568ed46e3551b0 <e002e92e88e12457373ed096b18716d97e7bbb20
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
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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