CVE-2026-97526

Kernel panic via missing CPU-hotplug PAI allocation

Published Sep 25, 2026 · Updated Sep 25, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in the Linux s390 PAI PMU allows local users with CPU hotplug control to panic an affected kernel. pai_add() retrieves an absent per-CPU mapptr for a CPU brought online after perf event creation and dereferences the resulting NULL cpump pointer. Triggering the crash requires an s390 system, an active PAI perf event, and privileged CPU hotplug access; the consequence is a host-wide kernel panic.

CVSS severityUnavailable
Unscored
EPSS probability0.19%
Next 30 days · Oct 19, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Get started

Summary

What happened

NULL pointer dereference in the Linux s390 PAI PMU allows local users with CPU hotplug control to panic an affected kernel. pai_add() retrieves an absent per-CPU mapptr for a CPU brought online after perf event creation and dereferences the resulting NULL cpump pointer. Triggering the crash requires an s390 system, an active PAI perf event, and privileged CPU hotplug access; the consequence is a host-wide kernel panic.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-97526
Published
Sep 25, 2026
Updated
Sep 25, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 25, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=6.11
  2. Affected versionversion=9f66572f2889a5e72a9d7e17787e52f03b1f7bd8 <706e2bf330144995d123dccf32aaf1981ce5abc2
  3. Affected versionversion=9f66572f2889a5e72a9d7e17787e52f03b1f7bd8 <9ecc4d033879f7761f2df07e20cd2fbec00fd90b

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=6.11; version=9f66572f2889a5e72a9d7e17787e52f03b1f7bd8 <706e2bf330144995d123dccf32aaf1981ce5abc2; version=9f66572f2889a5e72a9d7e17787e52f03b1f7bd8 <9ecc4d033879f7761f2df07e20cd2fbec00fd90b

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

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Get started to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Get started