CVE-2026-97416Hinoki check available

Kernel crash via unchecked Btrfs block-group lookup

Published Sep 24, 2026 · Updated Sep 24, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in Linux 6.12 before 6.12.111 and 6.18 before 6.18.53 allows local users to crash the kernel. During Btrfs balance, btrfs_may_alloc_data_chunk() dereferences cache->flags after btrfs_lookup_block_group() returns NULL for a corrupt chunk lacking an in-memory block group. Exploitation requires administrative access, inconsistent Btrfs metadata, and a balance operation; the bounded consequence is a kernel crash.

CVSS severityUnavailable
Unscored
EPSS probability0.17%
Next 30 days · Oct 19, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkAvailable
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Summary

What happened

NULL pointer dereference in Linux 6.12 before 6.12.111 and 6.18 before 6.18.53 allows local users to crash the kernel. During Btrfs balance, btrfs_may_alloc_data_chunk() dereferences cache->flags after btrfs_lookup_block_group() returns NULL for a corrupt chunk lacking an in-memory block group. Exploitation requires administrative access, inconsistent Btrfs metadata, and a balance operation; the bounded consequence is a kernel crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-97416
Published
Sep 24, 2026
Updated
Sep 24, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 24, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 24, 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=0 <6.12.111
  2. Affected versionversion=0 <6.18.53
  3. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <18d32b0013efba19f7ad3e5b08d7aee813d604a6
  4. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <59f75e0c8724d4adebc08c7dd3ff2358b80c21f7
  5. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <9740dd0c17a4be8cc47a06c5ca5293471a7e286e

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=0 <6.12.111; version=0 <6.18.53; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <18d32b0013efba19f7ad3e5b08d7aee813d604a6; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <59f75e0c8724d4adebc08c7dd3ff2358b80c21f7; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <9740dd0c17a4be8cc47a06c5ca5293471a7e286e

Published CVSS scores

No CVSS assessment is available in this record.

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.

Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 22, 2026Sep 28, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 28, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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