What is CVE-2026-64120?

CVE-2026-64120 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 6.16 onward and patched in 6.18.34, 7.0.11 and 7.1. CVE-2026-64120 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-64120?

CVE-2026-64120 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-2026-64120?

Yes, CVE-2026-64120 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.18.34, 7.0.11 and 7.1. If you are running Linux kernel 6.16 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2026-64120 actively exploited?

CVE-2026-64120 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-2026-64120

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ethtool: fix NULL pointer dereference in phy_reply_size In phy_prepare_data(), several strings such as 'name', 'drvname', 'upstream_sfp_name', and 'downstream_sfp_name' are allocated using kstrdup(). However, these allocations were not checked for failure. If kstrdup() fails for 'name', it returns NULL while the function continues. This leads to a kernel NULL pointer dereference and panic later in phy_reply_size() when it unconditionally calls strlen() on the NULL pointer. While other strings like 'upstream_sfp_name' might be checked before access in certain code paths, failing to handle these allocations consistently can lead to incomplete data reporting or hidden bugs. Fix this by adding proper NULL checks for all kstrdup() calls in phy_prepare_data() and implement a centralized error handling path using goto labels to ensure all previously allocated resources are freed on failure.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2026-07-19

Last modified 2026-08-13

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-2026-64120 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 6.16 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.18.34, 7.0.11, 7.1 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 6.16

Fixed in

✓ 6.18.34 6.18.x ✓ 7.0.11 7.0.x ✓ 7.1

References

3 total

Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3dbe20a3809347bacda890822e7ca013bd85a18c

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4908f1395fb1b832ceec11584af649874a2732ea

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/61f53c1e58d68723bc1db10912a53f1991f08719

Patch

Details

CVE ID CVE-2026-64120

Severity Medium

CVSS score 5.5 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2026-07-19

Modified 2026-08-13

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-64120?

CVE-2026-64120 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 6.16 onward and has been patched in 6.18.34, 7.0.11 and 7.1. CVE-2026-64120 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-64120?

CVE-2026-64120 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-2026-64120?

Yes. CVE-2026-64120 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.18.34, 7.0.11 and 7.1. If you are running Linux kernel 6.16 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2026-64120 actively exploited?

No. CVE-2026-64120 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.