Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2026-53111
A fix is available.
Upgrade to 6.1.175 / 6.6.141 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click
8 weeks old
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 · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: test_run: Fix the null pointer dereference issue in bpf_lwt_xmit_push_encap The bpf_lwt_xmit_push_encap helper needs to access skb_dst(skb)->dev to calculate the needed headroom: err = skb_cow_head(skb, len + LL_RESERVED_SPACE(skb_dst(skb)->dev)); But skb->_skb_refdst may not be initialized when the skb is set up by bpf_prog_test_run_skb function. Executing bpf_lwt_push_ip_encap function in this scenario will trigger null pointer dereference, causing a kernel crash as Yinhao reported: [ 105.186365] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 [ 105.186382] #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode [ 105.186388] #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page [ 105.186393] PGD 121d3d067 P4D 121d3d067 PUD 106c83067 PMD 0 [ 105.186404] Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP NOPTI [ 105.186412] CPU: 3 PID: 3250 Comm: poc Kdump: loaded Not tainted 6.19.0-rc5 #1 [ 105.186423] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2 04/01/2014 [ 105.186427] RIP: 0010:bpf_lwt_push_ip_encap+0x1eb/0x520 [ 105.186443] Code: 0f 84 de 01 00 00 0f b7 4a 04 66 85 c9 0f 85 47 01 00 00 31 c0 5b 5d 41 5c 41 5d 41 5e c3 cc cc cc cc 48 8b 73 58 48 83 e6 fe <48> 8b 36 0f b7 be ec 00 00 00 0f b7 b6 e6 00 00 00 01 fe 83 e6 f0 [ 105.186449] RSP: 0018:ffffbb0e0387bc50 EFLAGS: 00010246 [ 105.186455] RAX: 000000000000004e RBX: ffff94c74e036500 RCX: ffff94c74874da00 [ 105.186460] RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: ffff94c74e036500 [ 105.186463] RBP: 0000000000000001 R08: 0000000000000002 R09: 0000000000000000 [ 105.186467] R10: ffffbb0e0387bd50 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: ffffbb0e0387bc98 [ 105.186471] R13: 0000000000000014 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: 0000000000000002 [ 105.186484] FS: 00007f166aa4d680(0000) GS:ffff94c8b7780000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [ 105.186490] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [ 105.186494] CR2: 0000000000000000 CR3: 000000015eade001 CR4: 0000000000770ee0 [ 105.186499] PKRU: 55555554 [ 105.186502] Call Trace: [ 105.186507] <TASK> [ 105.186513] bpf_lwt_xmit_push_encap+0x2b/0x40 [ 105.186522] bpf_prog_a75eaad51e517912+0x41/0x49 [ 105.186536] ? kvm_clock_get_cycles+0x18/0x30 [ 105.186547] ? ktime_get+0x3c/0xa0 [ 105.186554] bpf_test_run+0x195/0x320 [ 105.186563] ? bpf_test_run+0x10f/0x320 [ 105.186579] bpf_prog_test_run_skb+0x2f5/0x4f0 [ 105.186590] __sys_bpf+0x69c/0xa40 [ 105.186603] __x64_sys_bpf+0x1e/0x30 [ 105.186611] do_syscall_64+0x59/0x110 [ 105.186620] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0xe0 [ 105.186649] RIP: 0033:0x7f166a97455d Temporarily add the setting of skb->_skb_refdst before bpf_test_run to resolve the issue.
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 · low confidenceDeveloping — this CVE was published recently and its authoritative NVD entry is still being established, so we're holding a technical summary until the source data settles rather than publish something unreliable. Re-checking after 2026-08-07.
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:
>= 5.1, < 6.1.175>= 6.2, < 6.6.141>= 6.7, < 6.12.91>= 6.13, < 6.18.33>= 6.19, < 7.0.10CVSS 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 6.1.175 / 6.6.141 / 6.12.91 or later
Fixed in
6.1.1756.6.1416.12.91
Recommended fix
High confidence
Linux Kernel >= 6.1.175, >= 6.6.141, >= 6.12.91, or >= 6.18.33 depending on branch (6.1.x, 6.2-6.5.x, 6.7-6.11.x, or 6.13-6.17.x respectively)
- 1. Identify the currently running kernel version using `uname -r`
- 2. Determine which kernel branch you're running (e.g., 6.1.x, 6.6.x, 6.7.x, 6.13.x)
- 3. Upgrade the Linux kernel to a fixed version: for 6.1.x branch upgrade to >= 6.1.175, for 6.2-6.5.x upgrade to >= 6.6.141, for 6.7-6.11.x upgrade to >= 6.12.91, for 6.13-6.17.x upgrade to >= 6.18.33
- 4. Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
- 5. Verify the fix by running `bpf_lwt_push_ip_encap` or the specific BPF test case that triggered the issue; it should no longer cause a kernel NULL pointer dereference
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could introduce compatibility issues with out-of-tree kernel modules or specific hardware drivers; ensure backup and test in staging first
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.
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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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-53111 in production — separate from our analysis above.
Know something about CVE-2026-53111?
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
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