dbcve.org
Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2026-23201

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-02-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.12.70 / 6.16 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: ceph: fix oops due to invalid pointer for kfree() in parse_longname() This fixes a kernel oops when reading ceph snapshot directories (.snap), for example by simply running `ls /mnt/my_ceph/.snap`. The variable str is guarded by __free(kfree), but advanced by one for skipping the initial '_' in snapshot names. Thus, kfree() is called with an invalid pointer. This patch removes the need for advancing the pointer so kfree() is called with correct memory pointer. Steps to reproduce: 1. Create snapshots on a cephfs volume (I've 63 snaps in my testcase) 2. Add cephfs mount to fstab $ echo "[email protected]=/volumes/datapool/stuff/3461082b-ecc9-4e82-8549-3fd2590d3fb6 /mnt/test/stuff ceph acl,noatime,_netdev 0 0" >> /etc/fstab 3. Reboot the system $ systemctl reboot 4. Check if it's really mounted $ mount | grep stuff 5. List snapshots (expected 63 snapshots on my system) $ ls /mnt/test/stuff/.snap Now ls hangs forever and the kernel log shows the oops.

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:>= 6.12.42, < 6.12.70>= 6.15.10, < 6.16>= 6.16.1, < 6.18.10= 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 6.12.70 / 6.16 / 6.18.10 or later
Fixed in 6.12.706.166.18.10
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Kernel 6.12.70 (or latest stable in your branch: 6.16+, 6.18.10+, or 6.20+)

  1. 1. Identify the currently running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. 2. Check if the running version is affected: 6.12.42-6.12.69, 6.15.10-6.15.x, 6.16.1-6.18.9, or 6.19
  3. 3. If affected, update the kernel package to version 6.12.70 or later for the 6.12 branch, 6.16 or later for the 6.15-6.16 branch, 6.18.10 or later for the 6.16.1-6.18.x branch, or 6.20 or later for the 6.19 branch
  4. 4. On distro-specific systems, use the package manager: `apt update && apt upgrade` (Debian/Ubuntu), `yum update` (RHEL/CentOS), or `dnf update` (Fedora)
  5. 5. Reboot the system to load the new kernel: `systemctl reboot`
  6. 6. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version with `uname -r` and confirming it is >= the fixed version for your branch
  7. 7. Test cephfs snapshot listing: `ls /mnt/<cephfs>/.snap` to confirm the oops no longer occurs
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require reboot and could introduce compatibility changes with out-of-tree drivers or custom modules; ensure any proprietary kernel modules are updated alongside the kernel

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

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-23201 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2026-23201 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data