Kernel panic via unchecked reserved-memory pointer
Published Sep 16, 2026 · Updated Sep 16, 2026
Null pointer dereference in Linux 6.11 allows attackers to panic the kernel through the powerpc kexec file-load path. When a platform has no reserved-memory ranges, get_reserved_memory_ranges() returns success without allocating rmem, but kexec_extra_fdt_size_ppc64() dereferences rmem->nr_ranges while sizing the crash-kernel device tree. Reachability requires a powerpc64 system with no reserved-memory regions and invocation of the kexec file-load path; public sources do not identify the required attacker privilege.
Summary
What happened
Null pointer dereference in Linux 6.11 allows attackers to panic the kernel through the powerpc kexec file-load path. When a platform has no reserved-memory ranges, get_reserved_memory_ranges() returns success without allocating rmem, but kexec_extra_fdt_size_ppc64() dereferences rmem->nr_ranges while sizing the crash-kernel device tree. Reachability requires a powerpc64 system with no reserved-memory regions and invocation of the kexec file-load path; public sources do not identify the required attacker privilege.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-89963
- Published
- Sep 16, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 16, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499.004
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 16, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 16, 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=0d3ff067331ef84e7e7f49537d768881042ed5ba <11ef1c2a5dbe0bd8c1345f59bab7331d352f02cf
- Affected versionversion=0d3ff067331ef84e7e7f49537d768881042ed5ba <4ff3d9fd71c7bc2fc81afdac1970d9c55a5c0dea
- Affected versionversion=0d3ff067331ef84e7e7f49537d768881042ed5ba <761eda315a6e1fda3e8e2185b28430771fb1ac29
- Affected versionversion=0d3ff067331ef84e7e7f49537d768881042ed5ba <df45337587db21c502fe5251d3bcc7887428f4fb
- Affected versionversion=6.11
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
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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