Kernel crash via DEVX unwind NULL dereference
Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026
NULL-pointer dereference in the Linux kernel RDMA/mlx5 DEVX handler allows local users to crash the kernel during event-subscription error handling. MLX5_IB_METHOD_DEVX_SUBSCRIBE_EVENT links event_sub into sub_list before initializing fields consumed when eventfd_ctx_fdget fails, causing the unwind path to dereference an unset ev_file and mishandle xa_key_level1. Reachability requires mlx5 DEVX event subscription and a failing eventfd lookup; the bounded consequence is a kernel crash.
Summary
What happened
NULL-pointer dereference in the Linux kernel RDMA/mlx5 DEVX handler allows local users to crash the kernel during event-subscription error handling. MLX5_IB_METHOD_DEVX_SUBSCRIBE_EVENT links event_sub into sub_list before initializing fields consumed when eventfd_ctx_fdget fails, causing the unwind path to dereference an unset ev_file and mishandle xa_key_level1. Reachability requires mlx5 DEVX event subscription and a failing eventfd lookup; the bounded consequence is a kernel crash.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-74395
- Published
- Aug 15, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 15, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
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
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- Affected versionversion=5.3
- Affected versionversion=7597385371425febdaa8c6a1da3625d4ffff16f5 <1025dc2f7ba29b04b8687790fa91f9cd1a53141e
- Affected versionversion=7597385371425febdaa8c6a1da3625d4ffff16f5 <43f8f7946814c8e5f464518246fdbc69b6e32326
- Affected versionversion=7597385371425febdaa8c6a1da3625d4ffff16f5 <5100febf8e9d6c8c5ba8dc6534c6a5e3376e5989
- Affected versionversion=7597385371425febdaa8c6a1da3625d4ffff16f5 <6e15b770461eeaa0ff73934922cb670a6a9db04e
- Affected versionversion=7597385371425febdaa8c6a1da3625d4ffff16f5 <78b9589fda266c71f0f9d0c858d4fa7381a890a5
- Affected versionversion=7597385371425febdaa8c6a1da3625d4ffff16f5 <7921821fc2b19c01588311f6e7468ae5b68b1f61
- Affected versionversion=7597385371425febdaa8c6a1da3625d4ffff16f5 <9be9aca28424228586fe9211c373ebdb826ebb6c
- Affected versionversion=7597385371425febdaa8c6a1da3625d4ffff16f5 <f345e744b6b087188cde2377da5cbe9713b61353
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What is affected?
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Attacks
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