System crash via unchecked child page-table pointer
Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel 6.8 allows local users to crash systems through the drm/xe page-table walk. The xe_pt_zap_ptes_entry() callback applies container_of() to a NULL child for an unpopulated entry and dereferences the resulting invalid pointer. Reaching the fault requires local low-privileged access and an active Intel Xe graphics driver; the bounded consequence is a kernel or driver crash.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel 6.8 allows local users to crash systems through the drm/xe page-table walk. The xe_pt_zap_ptes_entry() callback applies container_of() to a NULL child for an unpopulated entry and dereferences the resulting invalid pointer. Reaching the fault requires local low-privileged access and an active Intel Xe graphics driver; the bounded consequence is a kernel or driver crash.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-72362
- Published
- Aug 15, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 15, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-476, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 15, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 15, 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=6.8
- Affected versionversion=dd08ebf6c3525a7ea2186e636df064ea47281987 <3feeb667197bd58a17f4edfdbcad249ffcb3c864
- Affected versionversion=dd08ebf6c3525a7ea2186e636df064ea47281987 <78b1074966d290d4517f42bc81e13c4349368d12
- Affected versionversion=dd08ebf6c3525a7ea2186e636df064ea47281987 <d94b9922b2ae5ee6e900f8da0bd537b251c6110c
- Affected versionversion=dd08ebf6c3525a7ea2186e636df064ea47281987 <ff330ce16c846b70164ff0eb544c81219d4c5c08
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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