In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ring-buffer: Fix crash passing ERR_PTR to kthread_stop()
In test_ringbuffer()'s out_free cleanup loop, the check
!rb_threads[cpu] only catches NULL entries and misses entries that
hold an ERR_PTR.
rb_threads[] is static, so unassigned slots are NULL. But when
kthread_run_on_cpu() fails for a cpu, it stores ERR_PTR(-ENOMEM) (or
-EINTR) in rb_threads[cpu] before the creation loop jumps to out_free.
That entry is non-NULL, so the old !ptr check does not break, and the
cleanup proceeds to call kthread_stop() on the ERR_PTR. kthread_stop()
then dereferences the bogus pointer, crashing the kernel during the
late_initcall self-test.
crash logs:
BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 000000000000001c
Oops: 0002 [#1] SMP NOPTI
CPU: 1 PID: 1 Comm: swapper/0 Not tainted 7.2.0-rc6-dirty #7 PREEMPT(lazy)
RIP: 0010:kthread_stop+0x2e/0x220
RBX: fffffffffffffff4
CR2: 000000000000001c
Call Trace:
test_ringbuffer+0x1ec/0x650
do_one_initcall+0x6c/0x2c0
kernel_init_freeable+0x21d/0x420
kernel_init+0x15/0x1c0
ret_from_fork+0x21b/0x320
Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
- EG Severity
- Not assessed: no CVSS publishedA missing CVSS is not a severity of zero.
- EG Likelihood
- 0.2% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-10-24). 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
- No SSVC decision: EchelonGraph has not assessed this CVECISA BOD 26-04: 14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.Each input and its source: the BOD 26-04 block below.
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.
In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA's BOD 26-04 default) · Technical impact total (CISA's BOD 26-04 default). Where an input reads “CISA's BOD 26-04 default”, no one has published it for this CVE, and CISA's implementation guidance says: “If “Automatable” and “Technical Impact” information items about a CVE ID are not available and the CVE ID is not in the KEV Catalog, CISA will treat its values as “no” and “total,” respectively, until CISA or a third party provides metadata about the CVE ID. CISA will always provide the Vulnrichment data for a CVE ID listed in the KEV Catalog.” 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