What is CVE-2026-23002?

CVE-2026-23002 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, classified as a NULL Pointer Dereference flaw (CWE-476), affecting Linux kernel versions from 6.12 onward and patched in 6.12.67, 6.18.7 and 6.19. CVE-2026-23002 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-23002?

CVE-2026-23002 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-23002?

Yes, CVE-2026-23002 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.67, 6.18.7 and 6.19. If you are running Linux kernel 6.12 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2026-23002 actively exploited?

CVE-2026-23002 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476)?

The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL, typically causing a crash. See MITRE CWE for full details: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/476.html

CVE-2026-23002

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: lib/buildid: use __kernel_read() for sleepable context Prevent a "BUG: unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference in filemap_read_folio". For the sleepable context, convert freader to use __kernel_read() instead of direct page cache access via read_cache_folio(). This simplifies the faultable code path by using the standard kernel file reading interface which handles all the complexity of reading file data. At the moment we are not changing the code for non-sleepable context which uses filemap_get_folio() and only succeeds if the target folios are already in memory and up-to-date. The reason is to keep the patch simple and easier to backport to stable kernels. Syzbot repro does not crash the kernel anymore and the selftests run successfully. In the follow up we will make __kernel_read() with IOCB_NOWAIT work for non-sleepable contexts. In addition, I would like to replace the secretmem check with a more generic approach and will add fstest for the buildid code.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2026-01-25

Last modified 2026-03-25

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

5.5

out of 10

Medium

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Vector string

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness type

CWE-476

CVE-2026-23002 is a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability

What is NULL Pointer Dereference?

The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL, typically causing a crash. Learn more on MITRE CWE

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 6.12 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.12.67, 6.18.7, 6.19 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 6.12

Fixed in

✓ 6.12.67 6.12.x ✓ 6.18.7 6.18.x ✓ 6.19

References

3 total

Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/568aeb3476c770a3863c755dd2a199c212434286

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/777a8560fd29738350c5094d4166fe5499452409

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b11dfb7708f212b96c7973a474014c071aa02e05

Patch

Details

CVE ID CVE-2026-23002

Severity Medium

CVSS score 5.5 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2026-01-25

Modified 2026-03-25

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-23002?

CVE-2026-23002 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 , classified as a NULL Pointer Dereference flaw (CWE-476) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.12 onward and has been patched in 6.12.67, 6.18.7 and 6.19. CVE-2026-23002 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-23002?

CVE-2026-23002 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-23002?

Yes. CVE-2026-23002 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.67, 6.18.7 and 6.19. If you are running Linux kernel 6.12 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2026-23002 actively exploited?

No. CVE-2026-23002 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.