Kernel fault via absent RAS DES state
Published Aug 28, 2026 · Updated Aug 28, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel 6.15 allows attackers to fault the kernel during DesignWare PCIe debugfs teardown. The RAS DES initializer returns success without allocating rasdes_info when the controller lacks that capability, but the common deinitializer dereferences the unset pointer while destroying its mutex. Reachability requires such a controller to enter the common debugfs teardown path; whether the fault becomes an oops or system crash depends on kernel fault policy.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel 6.15 allows attackers to fault the kernel during DesignWare PCIe debugfs teardown. The RAS DES initializer returns success without allocating rasdes_info when the controller lacks that capability, but the common deinitializer dereferences the unset pointer while destroying its mutex. Reachability requires such a controller to enter the common debugfs teardown path; whether the fault becomes an oops or system crash depends on kernel fault policy.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-80621
- Published
- Aug 28, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 28, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 28, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 28, 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=4fbfa17f9a075593281034f566ca79cbf4930c82 <26b67fa10ef84ea667942491b50e6261a45f098d
- Affected versionversion=4fbfa17f9a075593281034f566ca79cbf4930c82 <514b84b1bf30f75f32c2fa66734dc1a177abb73e
- Affected versionversion=4fbfa17f9a075593281034f566ca79cbf4930c82 <855870e8c59b97fd424e8fa3543c9e289bb48fac
- Affected versionversion=6.15
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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Weakness, pattern, technique
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Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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