CVE-2026-23174
📋 TL;DR
A NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in the Linux kernel's NVMe PCI driver occurs when device DMA mapping requirements change during data iteration. This can cause kernel crashes or system instability on systems using NVMe storage devices with specific DMA configurations. Systems running affected Linux kernel versions with NVMe storage are potentially vulnerable.
💻 Affected Systems
- Linux kernel
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Kernel panic leading to system crash and denial of service, potentially causing data corruption or loss if occurring during critical storage operations.
Likely Case
System instability or crashes when NVMe devices experience DMA mapping requirement changes, particularly when swiotlb is enabled or modified during operation.
If Mitigated
Minor performance impact from proper DMA handling with no security or stability issues.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires triggering DMA mapping requirement changes during NVMe data iteration, which may be difficult to reliably achieve. Likely discovered through code review or fuzzing.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Patches available in stable kernel trees (commits 071be3b0b6575d45be9df9c5b612f5882bfc5e88 and f3ed399e9aa6f36e92d2d0fe88b387915e9705fe)
Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/071be3b0b6575d45be9df9c5b612f5882bfc5e88
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update to a patched Linux kernel version containing the fixes. 2. Reboot the system to load the new kernel. 3. Verify the kernel version after reboot.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable swiotlb if not required
LinuxPrevent DMA mapping requirement changes by disabling swiotlb if your system doesn't require it for device compatibility.
Add 'swiotlb=0' to kernel boot parameters in GRUB configuration
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Monitor system logs for kernel panics or NULL pointer dereference errors related to NVMe or DMA operations
- Consider temporarily disabling or replacing NVMe storage devices if experiencing stability issues
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if your kernel version includes the fix commits: 'git log --oneline | grep -E "071be3b0b6575d45be9df9c5b612f5882bfc5e88|f3ed399e9aa6f36e92d2d0fe88b387915e9705fe"'Check Version:
uname -rVerify Fix Applied:
Verify kernel version after update and check dmesg for NVMe-related errors during storage operations📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Kernel NULL pointer dereference errors
- NVMe driver crash messages
- Kernel panic logs mentioning nvme_pci or DMA operations
Network Indicators:
- None - this is a local storage subsystem issue
SIEM Query:
source="kernel" AND ("NULL pointer dereference" OR "nvme" OR "DMA")