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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2026-22996

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.12.67 / 6.18.7 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5e: Don't store mlx5e_priv in mlx5e_dev devlink priv mlx5e_priv is an unstable structure that can be memset(0) if profile attaching fails, mlx5e_priv in mlx5e_dev devlink private is used to reference the netdev and mdev associated with that struct. Instead, store netdev directly into mlx5e_dev and get mdev from the containing mlx5_adev aux device structure. This fixes a kernel oops in mlx5e_remove when switchdev mode fails due to change profile failure. $ devlink dev eswitch set pci/0000:00:03.0 mode switchdev Error: mlx5_core: Failed setting eswitch to offloads. dmesg: workqueue: Failed to create a rescuer kthread for wq "mlx5e": -EINTR mlx5_core 0012:03:00.1: mlx5e_netdev_init_profile:6214:(pid 37199): mlx5e_priv_init failed, err=-12 mlx5_core 0012:03:00.1 gpu3rdma1: mlx5e_netdev_change_profile: new profile init failed, -12 workqueue: Failed to create a rescuer kthread for wq "mlx5e": -EINTR mlx5_core 0012:03:00.1: mlx5e_netdev_init_profile:6214:(pid 37199): mlx5e_priv_init failed, err=-12 mlx5_core 0012:03:00.1 gpu3rdma1: mlx5e_netdev_change_profile: failed to rollback to orig profile, -12 $ devlink dev reload pci/0000:00:03.0 ==> oops BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000520 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI CPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 521 Comm: devlink Not tainted 6.18.0-rc5+ #117 PREEMPT(voluntary) Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.3-2.fc40 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:mlx5e_remove+0x68/0x130 RSP: 0018:ffffc900034838f0 EFLAGS: 00010246 RAX: ffff88810283c380 RBX: ffff888101874400 RCX: ffffffff826ffc45 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000001 RDI: 0000000000000000 RBP: ffff888102d789c0 R08: ffff8881007137f0 R09: ffff888100264e10 R10: ffffc90003483898 R11: ffffc900034838a0 R12: ffff888100d261a0 R13: ffff888100d261a0 R14: ffff8881018749a0 R15: ffff888101874400 FS: 00007f8565fea740(0000) GS:ffff88856a759000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000000000520 CR3: 000000010b11a004 CR4: 0000000000370ef0 Call Trace: <TASK> device_release_driver_internal+0x19c/0x200 bus_remove_device+0xc6/0x130 device_del+0x160/0x3d0 ? devl_param_driverinit_value_get+0x2d/0x90 mlx5_detach_device+0x89/0xe0 mlx5_unload_one_devl_locked+0x3a/0x70 mlx5_devlink_reload_down+0xc8/0x220 devlink_reload+0x7d/0x260 devlink_nl_reload_doit+0x45b/0x5a0 genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0xe8/0x140

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis
How this class of weakness works · CWE-476

The code follows a pointer that is null, crashing the process. An attacker who can reliably trigger it turns the crash into a denial of service. The fix is checking for null before use and handling the failure path gracefully.

General guidance for the null pointer dereference class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 5.12, < 6.12.67>= 6.13, < 6.18.7= 6.19

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

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

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.12.67 / 6.18.7 or later
Fixed in 6.12.676.18.7
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel 6.12.67, 6.18.7, or 6.20+ (depending on your distribution's kernel branch)

  1. Identify the current running kernel version using 'uname -r'
  2. Check if the current version is affected: version < 6.12.67, or between 6.13.0 and 6.18.7 inclusive, or exactly 6.19
  3. If affected, upgrade the Linux kernel to a fixed version: 6.12.67 or later, 6.18.7 or later, or 6.20 or later
  4. After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  5. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version and confirming mlx5e driver loads correctly
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require matching distribution-specific kernel packages; ensure bootloader configuration is correct after upgrade

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $2,850. Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-22996 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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