CVE-2026-45842

Kernel crash via VJ rstate null dereference

Published May 27, 2026 · Updated May 27, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in Linux Kernel PPP VJ receive handling allows local users to crash the kernel via a malformed compression state. slhc_init() leaves comp->rstate NULL when rslots is zero, but slhc_uncompress() and slhc_remember() dereference slot 0 after an ineffective limit check. The path requires local access to /dev/ppp with CAP_NET_ADMIN in a user namespace; transmit compression is unaffected.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.13%
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 Linux Kernel PPP VJ receive handling allows local users to crash the kernel via a malformed compression state. slhc_init() leaves comp->rstate NULL when rslots is zero, but slhc_uncompress() and slhc_remember() dereference slot 0 after an ineffective limit check. The path requires local access to /dev/ppp with CAP_NET_ADMIN in a user namespace; transmit compression is unaffected.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-45842
Published
May 27, 2026
Updated
May 27, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 27, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 27, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=2.6.32.70 <2.6.33
  2. Affected versionversion=3.10.96 <3.11
  3. Affected versionversion=3.12.53 <3.13
  4. Affected versionversion=3.14.60 <3.15
  5. Affected versionversion=3.18.27 <3.19
  6. Affected versionversion=3.2.75 <3.3
  7. Affected versionversion=3.4.111 <3.5
  8. Affected versionversion=354b254af5c1350de9586af75fe5a821b35bfb33
  9. Affected versionversion=4.1.17 <4.2
  10. Affected versionversion=42fc512469e78939c1e419d3310c47de55bdcbb8
  11. Affected versionversion=4.3.5 <4.4
  12. Affected versionversion=4.4
  13. Affected versionversion=4ab42d78e37a294ac7bc56901d563c642e03c4ae <7b0d9e878ec2b21d99ae8051b3dda59cdb66c152
  14. Affected versionversion=4ab42d78e37a294ac7bc56901d563c642e03c4ae <9e1ff0eead073c4f46d874ad2526b7dda5465faf
  15. Affected versionversion=4ab42d78e37a294ac7bc56901d563c642e03c4ae <c6980e8b1a86288167f34966fa5219031999b6f1
  16. Affected versionversion=4ab42d78e37a294ac7bc56901d563c642e03c4ae <de42f86e2cf5028a97e74c25869d1a962b13c301
  17. Affected versionversion=4ab42d78e37a294ac7bc56901d563c642e03c4ae <e76607442d5b73e1ba6768f501ef815bb58c2c0e
  18. Affected versionversion=5148857f5d4c812cc918cf4627f7880521e987eb
  19. Affected versionversion=6b4fa561e26526c62636414d267342c945084f44
  20. Affected versionversion=82185755d90c8047c6f4b589c39998ff3d4ca3ad
  21. Affected versionversion=a1c3860d3c5fc62bd35f089bcb03f18a37242de9
  22. Affected versionversion=a50a93cc99286dc444c7e5ccc7dfb9d58c2d346d
  23. Affected versionversion=df085f1cb3acd3d75408ff94f366983873bce7d2
  24. Affected versionversion=f82699de104eaf8a7ffc2849a566a94818dd8a3c

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=2.6.32.70 <2.6.33; version=3.10.96 <3.11; version=3.12.53 <3.13; version=3.14.60 <3.15; version=3.18.27 <3.19; version=3.2.75 <3.3; version=3.4.111 <3.5; version=354b254af5c1350de9586af75fe5a821b35bfb33; version=4.1.17 <4.2; version=42fc512469e78939c1e419d3310c47de55bdcbb8; version=4.3.5 <4.4; version=4.4; version=4ab42d78e37a294ac7bc56901d563c642e03c4ae <7b0d9e878ec2b21d99ae8051b3dda59cdb66c152; version=4ab42d78e37a294ac7bc56901d563c642e03c4ae <9e1ff0eead073c4f46d874ad2526b7dda5465faf; version=4ab42d78e37a294ac7bc56901d563c642e03c4ae <c6980e8b1a86288167f34966fa5219031999b6f1; version=4ab42d78e37a294ac7bc56901d563c642e03c4ae <de42f86e2cf5028a97e74c25869d1a962b13c301; version=4ab42d78e37a294ac7bc56901d563c642e03c4ae <e76607442d5b73e1ba6768f501ef815bb58c2c0e; version=5148857f5d4c812cc918cf4627f7880521e987eb; version=6b4fa561e26526c62636414d267342c945084f44; version=82185755d90c8047c6f4b589c39998ff3d4ca3ad; version=a1c3860d3c5fc62bd35f089bcb03f18a37242de9; version=a50a93cc99286dc444c7e5ccc7dfb9d58c2d346d; version=df085f1cb3acd3d75408ff94f366983873bce7d2; version=f82699de104eaf8a7ffc2849a566a94818dd8a3c

Published CVSS scores

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

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
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

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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