CVE-2026-74311

Guest kernel crash via stale virtqueue reinitialization

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in Linux 6.16 allows local users to crash a virtio-rtc guest kernel during system restore. The virtio-rtc restore path calls viortc_init_vqs() without deleting stale virtqueues, so vp_del_vqs() uses the new queue array while vdev->vqs still holds old queues and vp_del_vq() dereferences a NULL info pointer. Reachability requires a guest with virtio-rtc-pci to enter restore; either a failed reinitialization or an unsuccessful early MSI-X queue attempt can trigger the crash.

CVSS severity4.7
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 6.16 allows local users to crash a virtio-rtc guest kernel during system restore. The virtio-rtc restore path calls viortc_init_vqs() without deleting stale virtqueues, so vp_del_vqs() uses the new queue array while vdev->vqs still holds old queues and vp_del_vq() dereferences a NULL info pointer. Reachability requires a guest with virtio-rtc-pci to enter restore; either a failed reinitialization or an unsuccessful early MSI-X queue attempt can trigger the crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-74311
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 15, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=0623c759276885c3ae88197ba6fb5c9c6ba8612f <548d2208455f14e6121404c6e30e997bfe0cd264
  2. Affected versionversion=0623c759276885c3ae88197ba6fb5c9c6ba8612f <79366023aa891ca31376021a7bccff6384ca1ff1
  3. Affected versionversion=0623c759276885c3ae88197ba6fb5c9c6ba8612f <aebebd1e9d70b650fc9e877082e0134edcf511da
  4. Affected versionversion=6.16

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=0623c759276885c3ae88197ba6fb5c9c6ba8612f <548d2208455f14e6121404c6e30e997bfe0cd264; version=0623c759276885c3ae88197ba6fb5c9c6ba8612f <79366023aa891ca31376021a7bccff6384ca1ff1; version=0623c759276885c3ae88197ba6fb5c9c6ba8612f <aebebd1e9d70b650fc9e877082e0134edcf511da; version=6.16

Published CVSS scores

4.7Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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.

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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.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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