CVE-2026-31421
MediumCVSS 5.5Exploitation Probability (EPSS)
Low risk2th percentile - higher than 2% of all known CVEs
Summary
In the Linux kernel, a NULL pointer dereference was found in the cls_fw classifier when using filters on shared blocks. The issue occurs when an empty cls_fw filter is attached to a shared block and a packet with a nonzero skb mark is classified, causing a system crash.
Risk Assessment
An attacker can trigger a kernel panic by sending a crafted packet, leading to a denial of service (DoS). The vulnerability affects systems using shared blocks in the Traffic Control (TC) subsystem.
Recommendation
Immediately update the Linux kernel to a version containing the fix (commit patching cls_fw). If an update is not possible, temporarily avoid using empty cls_fw filters on shared blocks.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
See all- CVE-2026-98164Unknown
In the Linux kernel, KVM x86/mmu's kvm_gfn_is_write_tracked() only checks the supplied memslot, but page tracking is per-address-space and shadow pages are shared across address spaces. With SMM, a GFN can be write-tracked in one address space and appear untracked in another. The fix checks the supplied slot first, then the slot for the other address space, preventing mmu_try_to_unsync_pages() from marking an upper-level shadow page unsync and triggering a BUG in pte_list_remove().
- CVE-2026-98048Unknown
In the Linux kernel's BPF subsystem, mark_fastcall_pattern_for_call() must ensure that a matched "spill; call; fill" instruction series is not interrupted by a jump. Otherwise the rewrite applied by bpf_remove_fastcall_spills_fills() is unsound. The fix records instructions targeted by jumps in insn_aux_data[*].jump_target and uses this flag to stop growing a pattern.
- CVE-2026-98047Unknown
In the Linux kernel's BPF subsystem, in_rbtree_lock_required_cb() only checks the innermost verifier frame, so rbtree callback restrictions disappear in a nested static subprogram call frame. The subprogram can unlock the tree, remove and drop the node being compared, then relock, leading to freed memory being linked into the tree.
- CVE-2026-98046Unknown
In the Linux kernel's BPF subsystem, bpf_btf_find_by_name_kind() returns a new BTF object fd through __btf_new_fd(), which reaches anon_inode_getfd() that can sleep while allocating or expanding the current task fd table. The helper prototype does not set might_sleep, so the verifier allows the helper in non-sleepable contexts such as BPF timer callbacks.
- CVE-2026-98045Unknown
In the Linux kernel, a BPF verifier vulnerability affects stack helpers that may block on filesystem reads (e.g., resolving build IDs) but were not marked as sleepable. The verifier could still allow these helpers from non-sleepable regions such as RCU or preemption-disabled sections.
- CVE-2026-98044Unknown
In the Linux kernel, the BPF verifier mishandled legacy packet-load instructions (BPF_LD_ABS/BPF_LD_IND) reached from callbacks, triggering a verifier bug warning and an -EFAULT on BPF_PROG_LOAD. A privileged program loader could trigger this issue.
- CVE-2026-98043Unknown
In the Linux kernel, the BPF verifier incorrectly inferred that a pointer with an unbounded offset is non-NULL based solely on its type. As a result, a BPF program could pass verification while a NULL pointer dereference occurred at runtime.
- CVE-2026-98042Unknown
In the Linux kernel, the BPF verifier could resurrect a scalar id dropped by collect_linked_regs() because snapshots of compared registers were taken before linked registers were collected. This could lead to range inconsistencies and precision propagation issues.
- CVE-2026-98041High
In the Linux kernel, the BPF verifier incorrectly predicted the outcome of pointer vs zero comparisons in JMP32 instructions, failing to distinguish BPF_JMP from BPF_JMP32 comparisons. This led to incorrect inference that a jump is always taken.
- CVE-2026-98040Unknown
In the Linux kernel, the BPF verifier did not mark the zero register as precise for a register-form NULL check. As a result, one path was pruned and the program could dereference a zero pointer at runtime.
Original NVD description (English source)
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/sched: cls_fw: fix NULL pointer dereference on shared blocks The old-method path in fw_classify() calls tcf_block_q() and dereferences q->handle. Shared blocks leave block->q NULL, causing a NULL deref when an empty cls_fw filter is attached to a shared block and a packet with a nonzero major skb mark is classified. Reject the configuration in fw_change() when the old method (no TCA_OPTIONS) is used on a shared block, since fw_classify()'s old-method path needs block->q which is NULL for shared blocks. The fixed null-ptr-deref calling stack: KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000038-0x000000000000003f] RIP: 0010:fw_classify (net/sched/cls_fw.c:81) Call Trace: tcf_classify (./include/net/tc_wrapper.h:197 net/sched/cls_api.c:1764 net/sched/cls_api.c:1860) tc_run (net/core/dev.c:4401) __dev_queue_xmit (net/core/dev.c:4535 net/core/dev.c:4790)
Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS

