Crash-recovery disruption via missing IPL parameter block
Published Oct 14, 2026 · Updated Oct 14, 2026
NULL dereference in Linux s390 IPL handling allows attackers to disrupt crash recovery via boot without an IPL parameter block. machine_crash_shutdown() unconditionally calls set_os_info_reipl_block(), which dereferences the NULL reipl_block_actual pointer for IPL_TYPE_UNKNOWN. The path requires kdump and an absent boot parameter block, as with HMC FTP or QEMU direct kernel boot; readable lowcore at address zero can mask the fault, and attacker control of these preconditions is undocumented.
Summary
What happened
NULL dereference in Linux s390 IPL handling allows attackers to disrupt crash recovery via boot without an IPL parameter block. machine_crash_shutdown() unconditionally calls set_os_info_reipl_block(), which dereferences the NULL reipl_block_actual pointer for IPL_TYPE_UNKNOWN. The path requires kdump and an absent boot parameter block, as with HMC FTP or QEMU direct kernel boot; readable lowcore at address zero can mask the fault, and attacker control of these preconditions is undocumented.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-98400
- Published
- Oct 14, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 14, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 14, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 14, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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- Affected versionversion=3b9678472bab86ae654cf2c18d5dd551558045be <030e88812435fc5d6aa42eee41fa77b5ea620327
- Affected versionversion=3b9678472bab86ae654cf2c18d5dd551558045be <50f9c40768e84f30d374235b3ee3850a94d9ac29
- Affected versionversion=3b9678472bab86ae654cf2c18d5dd551558045be <7f918871112e8e7c581e99eb8e545af4e59c8367
- Affected versionversion=3b9678472bab86ae654cf2c18d5dd551558045be <92d0829eae257544b6b0faccb6e7079c45e22d48
- Affected versionversion=3b9678472bab86ae654cf2c18d5dd551558045be <b6bf82bc5e00afaf836f8bb9a676bffc182a6bbd
- Affected versionversion=4.17
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
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Public exploit references
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