In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
usb: gadget: f_ncm: fix potential NULL ptr deref in ncm_bitrate()
In Google internal bug 265639009 we've received an (as yet) unreproducible
crash report from an aarch64 GKI 5.10.149-android13 running device.
AFAICT the source code is at:
https://android.googlesource.com/kernel/common/+/refs/tags/ASB-2022-12-05_13-5.10
The call stack is:
ncm_close() -> ncm_notify() -> ncm_do_notify()
with the crash at:
ncm_do_notify+0x98/0x270
Code: 79000d0b b9000a6c f940012a f9400269 (b9405d4b)
Which I believe disassembles to (I don't know ARM assembly, but it looks sane enough to me...):
// halfword (16-bit) store presumably to event->wLength (at offset 6 of struct usb_cdc_notification)
0B 0D 00 79 strh w11, [x8, #6]
// word (32-bit) store presumably to req->Length (at offset 8 of struct usb_request)
6C 0A 00 B9 str w12, [x19, #8]
// x10 (NULL) was read here from offset 0 of valid pointer x9
// IMHO we're reading 'cdev->gadget' and getting NULL
// gadget is indeed at offset 0 of struct usb_composite_dev
2A 01 40 F9 ldr x10, [x9]
// loading req->buf pointer, which is at offset 0 of struct usb_request
69 02 40 F9 ldr x9, [x19]
// x10 is null, crash, appears to be attempt to read cdev->gadget->max_speed
4B 5D 40 B9 ldr w11, [x10, #0x5c]
which seems to line up with ncm_do_notify() case NCM_NOTIFY_SPEED code fragment:
event->wLength = cpu_to_le16(8);
req->length = NCM_STATUS_BYTECOUNT;
/* SPEED_CHANGE data is up/down speeds in bits/sec */
data = req->buf + sizeof *event;
data[0] = cpu_to_le32(ncm_bitrate(cdev->gadget));
My analysis of registers and NULL ptr deref crash offset
(Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 000000000000005c)
heavily suggests that the crash is due to 'cdev->gadget' being NULL when executing:
data[0] = cpu_to_le32(ncm_bitrate(cdev->gadget));
which calls:
ncm_bitrate(NULL)
which then calls:
gadget_is_superspeed(NULL)
which reads
((struct usb_gadget *)NULL)->max_speed
and hits a panic.
AFAICT, if I'm counting right, the offset of max_speed is indeed 0x5C.
(remember there's a GKI KABI reservation of 16 bytes in struct work_struct)
It's not at all clear to me how this is all supposed to work...
but returning 0 seems much better than panic-ing...
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (5.5): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 5.5 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.
- EG Severity
- 5.5 MEDIUMCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
- EG Likelihood
- 0.2% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-11-07). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
- Confirmed exploitation
- None on record (CISA KEV, EG-KEV Tier 1)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
- EG Priority
- SSVC Track at medium mission impactTrack at every mission impact level.CISA BOD 26-04: 60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.Each input and its source, and whom BOD 26-04 binds: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at every mission impact level.
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines.
Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.
The score's inputs: In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it