Kernel crash via retained initialization error pointer
Published Oct 28, 2026 · Updated Oct 28, 2026
Error-pointer dereference in Linux 6.18's Rocket NPU driver allows attackers to crash the kernel during device probing. The rocket_probe() function retains a failed rocket_device_init() result in the shared rdev pointer, causing a later core probe to skip initialization and read rdev->num_cores through that error pointer. Triggering requires compatible Rockchip NPU hardware and an initialization failure followed by another core probe; public evidence does not establish how attackers force that failure.
Summary
What happened
Error-pointer dereference in Linux 6.18's Rocket NPU driver allows attackers to crash the kernel during device probing. The rocket_probe() function retains a failed rocket_device_init() result in the shared rdev pointer, causing a later core probe to skip initialization and read rdev->num_cores through that error pointer. Triggering requires compatible Rockchip NPU hardware and an initialization failure followed by another core probe; public evidence does not establish how attackers force that failure.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-99210
- 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=6.18
- Affected versionversion=ed98261b41687323ffa02ca20fef1e60b38fd1aa <4ac852419f0d317c7bd8db5b8acb3cc78be7fe33
- Affected versionversion=ed98261b41687323ffa02ca20fef1e60b38fd1aa <79071b67182e1b352d51a3917729b8d424710b49
- Affected versionversion=ed98261b41687323ffa02ca20fef1e60b38fd1aa <dd47a6c920083b069f00f0920e4566915a6aec46
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
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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