CVE-2026-53385
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vc_screen: fix null-ptr-deref in vcs_notifier() during concurrent vcs_write A KASAN null-ptr-deref was observed in vcs_notifier(): BUG: KASAN: null-ptr-deref in vcs_notifier+0x98/0x130 Read of size 2 at addr qmp_cmd_name: qmp_capabilities, arguments: {} The issue is a race condition in vcs_write(). When the console_lock is temporarily dropped (to copy data from userspace), the vc_data pointer obtained from vcs_vc() may become stale. After re-acquiring the lock, vcs_vc() is called again to re-validate the pointer. If the vc has been deallocated in the meantime, vcs_vc() returns NULL, and the while loop breaks (with written > 0). However, after the loop, vcs_scr_updated(vc) is still called with the now-NULL vc pointer, leading to a null pointer dereference in the notifier chain (vcs_notifier dereferences param->vc). Fix this by adding a NULL check for vc before calling vcs_scr_updated().
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
5.10.181,
5.15.113,
6.1.30,
4.14.327,
4.19.284,
5.4.244,
6.3.4,
6.4
and later are affected. Fixed in
5.10.260,
5.15.211,
6.1.177,
6.6.144,
6.12.95,
6.18.37,
7.0.14,
7.1.2,
7.2-rc1
and their respective stable series.
References
9 totalFrequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-53385?
CVE-2026-53385 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.10.181 onward and has been patched in 5.10.260, 5.15.211, 6.1.177 and others. CVE-2026-53385 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-53385?
Yes — CVE-2026-53385 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.10.260, 5.15.211, 6.1.177 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.10.181 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-53385 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2026-53385 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.