Kernel panic via unchecked ethtool allocation
Published Jul 19, 2026 · Updated Jul 19, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in Linux Kernel ethtool PHY handling allows local users to trigger a kernel panic after an allocation failure. phy_prepare_data() duplicates PHY strings with kstrdup() but continues when the name allocation returns NULL, and phy_reply_size() then passes that NULL pointer to strlen(). Reachability requires local low-privileged access, the affected PHY path, and a failed memory allocation; the published impact is service interruption only.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in Linux Kernel ethtool PHY handling allows local users to trigger a kernel panic after an allocation failure. phy_prepare_data() duplicates PHY strings with kstrdup() but continues when the name allocation returns NULL, and phy_reply_size() then passes that NULL pointer to strlen(). Reachability requires local low-privileged access, the affected PHY path, and a failed memory allocation; the published impact is service interruption only.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-64120
- Published
- Jul 19, 2026
- Updated
- Jul 19, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-476, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 19, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jul 19, 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=6.16
- Affected versionversion=9dd2ad5e92b962d1349a7541d167e8e214e49f95 <3dbe20a3809347bacda890822e7ca013bd85a18c
- Affected versionversion=9dd2ad5e92b962d1349a7541d167e8e214e49f95 <4908f1395fb1b832ceec11584af649874a2732ea
- Affected versionversion=9dd2ad5e92b962d1349a7541d167e8e214e49f95 <61f53c1e58d68723bc1db10912a53f1991f08719
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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