Kernel crash via premature PHY attachment
Published Oct 28, 2026 · Updated Oct 28, 2026
NULL dereference in Linux 7.2 GRETH probing allows attackers to crash the kernel during affected driver initialization. greth_of_probe() calls greth_mdio_init() before assigning dev->netdev_ops, so PHY attachment reads the unset pointer through netdev_need_ops_lock(). The crash requires CONFIG_NET_SHAPER and probing of the affected device; the public record does not establish attacker control over probing or a network trigger.
Summary
What happened
NULL dereference in Linux 7.2 GRETH probing allows attackers to crash the kernel during affected driver initialization. greth_of_probe() calls greth_mdio_init() before assigning dev->netdev_ops, so PHY attachment reads the unset pointer through netdev_need_ops_lock(). The crash requires CONFIG_NET_SHAPER and probing of the affected device; the public record does not establish attacker control over probing or a network trigger.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-99194
- Published
- Oct 28, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 28, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 28, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 28, 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=7.2
- Affected versionversion=ded86da4bbb78cad74cecc368fee3ae3a296e2ca <5293e376e9d6cdb945db11f71821bb57d415631d
- Affected versionversion=ded86da4bbb78cad74cecc368fee3ae3a296e2ca <d71483f0716e7ae98578817bfdc8a5b822d250f8
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
No sourced classifications are available.
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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