Which versions of NI-PAL are affected by CVE-2026-8035?

NI's NI-PAL kernel driver (versions 26.3.0 and prior) contains a local denial-of-service vulnerability that allows authenticated users to crash the entire host system through a kernel-level NULL…

How to fix or mitigate CVE-2026-8035?

Within 24 hours: Inventory all systems running NI-PAL kernel driver versions 26.3.0 or earlier and identify business-critical hosts. Within 7 days: Restrict local system access to trusted users only, review and enforce principle of least privilege for user accounts, and establish monitoring for NI security advisories. Within 30 days: Coordinate with NI for patch availability and develop upgrade plan; evaluate operational risk acceptance if patched versions remain unavailable.

NI-PAL CVE-2026-8035

Q: What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-8035?

CVE-2026-8035 has a CVSS 4.0 base score of 6.9 (Medium). CVSS vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.0%.

EUVD-2026-33991 MEDIUM

NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476)

2026-06-02 NI

GHSA-5rw2-422p-gwxr

Microsoft Null Pointer Dereference Denial Of Service

6.9

CVSS 4.0 · NVD

Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY

6.9 MEDIUM

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Lifecycle Timeline

Severity Changed

Jun 02, 2026 - 20:22 NVD

HIGH MEDIUM

CVSS changed

Jun 02, 2026 - 20:22 NVD

7.1 (HIGH) 6.9 (MEDIUM)

Analysis Generated

Jun 02, 2026 - 20:20 vuln.today

CVE Published

Jun 02, 2026 - 17:22 nvd

HIGH 7.1

DescriptionCVE.org

Improper input validation in the NI-PAL kernel driver may allow a local authenticated user to cause a denial of service by triggering a crash due to a NULL pointer dereference. This vulnerability affects NI-PAL 26.3.0 and prior versions on Windows and Linux.

AnalysisAI

Local denial of service in NI's NI-PAL kernel driver (versions 26.3.0 and prior on Windows and Linux) allows an authenticated local user to crash the host system by sending malformed input that triggers a NULL pointer dereference in kernel space. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, but the kernel-level impact means a successful trigger takes down the entire host, not just the driver process. The issue is vendor-disclosed by NI with an advisory published on ni.com.

Technical ContextAI

NI-PAL (NI Platform Abstraction Layer) is a low-level kernel-mode component distributed by National Instruments that provides hardware abstraction services used by NI's measurement, automation, and DAQ software stacks on both Windows and Linux. Because it runs as a kernel driver, input passed from user-mode (typically via IOCTL or device-file interfaces) crosses a privilege boundary and must be rigorously validated. The root cause is CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference): the driver fails to validate a pointer field - likely an input buffer, handle, or structure member supplied from user space - before dereferencing it inside the kernel, producing a kernel-mode fault (BSOD on Windows, kernel oops/panic on Linux). The CPE cpe:2.3:a:ni:ni-pal:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* covers all NI-PAL builds up to and including 26.3.0.

RemediationAI

Patch available per vendor advisory - consult the NI security bulletin at https://www.ni.com/en/support/security/available-critical-and-security-updates-for-ni-software/2026/invalid-input-validation-vulnerabilities-in-ni-pal.html for the fixed NI-PAL build and apply it via NI Package Manager or the platform's standard update mechanism on every Windows and Linux host running NI software. Until patching is complete, restrict interactive and remote login access to systems running NI-PAL to trusted operators only (the vulnerability requires a local authenticated session), and on shared lab or test-rig hosts consider removing non-essential user accounts or enforcing dedicated single-user operation; note this reduces flexibility for multi-team labs. As a defense-in-depth measure, ensure crash dumps are collected and monitored so any exploitation attempt is detected, and rebuild/reboot procedures are documented since recovery requires a full host restart.