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Linux Kernel CVE-2026-43122

| EUVDEUVD-2026-27685 MEDIUM
NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476)
2026-05-06 Linux GHSA-xrc9-fq2p-6mm2
Denial Of Service Linux Null Pointer Dereference
5.5
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY
5.5 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
vuln.today AI
5.5 MEDIUM

Local-only trigger path with low-privilege access required; crash-only impact gives A:H with no confidentiality or integrity consequence.

3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
SUSE
MEDIUM
qualitative

Primary rating from NVD.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

4
Analysis Generated
Jul 24, 2026 - 01:11 vuln.today
CVSS changed
May 12, 2026 - 21:22 NVD
5.5 (MEDIUM)
Patch available
May 06, 2026 - 13:02 EUVD
CVE Published
May 06, 2026 - 11:27 nvd
MEDIUM 5.5

DescriptionCVE.org

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ACPI: processor: Update cpuidle driver check in __acpi_processor_start()

Commit 7a8c994cbb2d ("ACPI: processor: idle: Optimize ACPI idle driver registration") moved the ACPI idle driver registration to acpi_processor_driver_init() and acpi_processor_power_init() does not register an idle driver any more.

Accordingly, the cpuidle driver check in __acpi_processor_start() needs to be updated to avoid calling acpi_processor_power_init() without a cpuidle driver, in which case the registration of the cpuidle device in that function would lead to a NULL pointer dereference in __cpuidle_register_device().

AnalysisAI

NULL pointer dereference in the Linux Kernel ACPI processor subsystem crashes the host system when the cpuidle driver initialization path is invoked in an inconsistent state. Affected kernel builds introduced this regression after commit 7a8c994cbb2d relocated ACPI idle driver registration, leaving the check in __acpi_processor_start() referencing a driver that no longer exists at that point in initialization; __cpuidle_register_device() then dereferences a NULL pointer, triggering a kernel panic. No public exploit has been identified and EPSS stands at 0.02% (4th percentile), consistent with a reliability regression rather than a targeted attack.

Technical ContextAI

The vulnerability resides in the Linux kernel's ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) processor power management subsystem. CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference) describes the root cause: a refactoring regression introduced when commit 7a8c994cbb2d moved ACPI idle driver registration from acpi_processor_power_init() into acpi_processor_driver_init(). After that change, the cpuidle driver check guard inside __acpi_processor_start() was not updated to reflect the new registration lifecycle; as a result, acpi_processor_power_init() can be called when no cpuidle driver is yet registered. When this occurs, the subsequent call to __cpuidle_register_device() dereferences a NULL pointer, causing a kernel oops or panic. The affected CPE is cpe:2.3:a:linux:linux:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* across the vulnerable commit range. Tags indicate Red Hat and SUSE distributions ship affected kernel builds, meaning enterprise Linux deployments are in scope.

RemediationAI

The primary fix is to upgrade the Linux kernel to a patched release: 6.18.14, 6.19.4, or 7.0, per EUVD-2026-27685. Upstream fix commits are available at https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/68f38f648e4b5bed2aeadd2f711e25302e6490f8, https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6cfed39c2ce64ac024bbde458a9727105e0b8c66, and https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0089ce1c056aee547115bdc25c223f8f88c08498; these can be backported to custom kernel builds if a distribution update is not yet available. Red Hat and SUSE users should apply vendor kernel errata when published. As a compensating control on systems where immediate patching is not possible, disabling ACPI processor power management via the kernel boot parameter processor.nocst=1 or blacklisting the acpi_cpufreq module may prevent the affected initialization path from executing, though this will disable CPU frequency scaling and may impact power efficiency and thermal management.

Same weakness CWE-476 – NULL Pointer Dereference

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Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Medium
Product Status
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP7 Fixed

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CVE-2026-43122 vulnerability details – vuln.today
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