Kernel crash via malformed crypto template
Published Jul 25, 2026 · Updated Jul 25, 2026
Error-pointer dereference in Linux Kernel 6.16 allows local users to crash the kernel via a malformed ChaCha20-Poly1305 template. In chachapoly_create(), a missing second template argument makes crypto_attr_alg_name() return an error pointer that strcmp() dereferences without validation. Reachability requires local access to instantiate the malformed Crypto API template, and the established consequence is a kernel crash rather than data disclosure or modification.
Summary
What happened
Error-pointer dereference in Linux Kernel 6.16 allows local users to crash the kernel via a malformed ChaCha20-Poly1305 template. In chachapoly_create(), a missing second template argument makes crypto_attr_alg_name() return an error pointer that strcmp() dereferences without validation. Reachability requires local access to instantiate the malformed Crypto API template, and the established consequence is a kernel crash rather than data disclosure or modification.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-64314
- Published
- Jul 25, 2026
- Updated
- Jul 25, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jul 25, 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=a298765e28adaea199f722142c10dae7e24dedf8 <0016d3c21c6ab60a20be7f565cefb5999f3adeb6
- Affected versionversion=a298765e28adaea199f722142c10dae7e24dedf8 <265b861bece38318b8e0fc8fac0643d4ef906d31
- Affected versionversion=a298765e28adaea199f722142c10dae7e24dedf8 <e74df53b36cdc6b6b9e5488ec883d1d55624737f
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What is affected?
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Attacks
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Weakness, pattern, technique
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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