Service interruption via unchecked virtqueue alignment
Published Sep 25, 2026 · Updated Sep 25, 2026
Null-pointer dereference in Linux VDUSE allows local users to interrupt virtio-net device startup through invalid virtqueue alignment. vduse_validate_config checks only the upper bound, letting zero or non-power-of-two vq_align values reach split-ring helpers that subtract one and leave the used-ring pointer null. Access to the local VDUSE control device and creation of a malformed device are required; the demonstrated result is a kernel fault during device opening.
Summary
What happened
Null-pointer dereference in Linux VDUSE allows local users to interrupt virtio-net device startup through invalid virtqueue alignment. vduse_validate_config checks only the upper bound, letting zero or non-power-of-two vq_align values reach split-ring helpers that subtract one and leave the used-ring pointer null. Access to the local VDUSE control device and creation of a malformed device are required; the demonstrated result is a kernel fault during device opening.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-97989
- Published
- Sep 25, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 25, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 25, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=5.15
- Affected versionversion=c8a6153b6c59d95c0e091f053f6f180952ade91e <c3c3b0839a1197530cc18f535062fc84dbdfc885
- Affected versionversion=c8a6153b6c59d95c0e091f053f6f180952ade91e <fa2c25b4add57888acfa89e398389e267bff3dcf
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
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