Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2026-53237
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: gpio: mvebu: fix NULL pointer dereference in suspend/resume mvebu_pwm_suspend() and mvebu_pwm_resume() are called for all GPIO banks during suspend/resume, but not all banks have PWM functionality. GPIO banks without PWM have mvchip->mvpwm set to NULL. Calling mvebu_pwm_suspend() with mvpwm == NULL causes a NULL pointer dereference when it tries to access mvpwm->blink_select. Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 00000020 when write [00000020] *pgd=00000000 Internal error: Oops: 815 [#1] PREEMPT ARM Modules linked in: CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 406 Comm: sh Not tainted 6.12.74-rt12-yocto-standard-g4e96f98fb7db-dirty #353 Hardware name: Marvell Armada 370/XP (Device Tree) PC is at regmap_mmio_read+0x38/0x54 LR is at regmap_mmio_read+0x38/0x54 pc : [<c05fd2ac>] lr : [<c05fd2ac>] psr: 200f0013 sp : f0c11d10 ip : 00000000 fp : c100d2f0 r10: c14fb854 r9 : 00000000 r8 : 00000000 r7 : c1799c00 r6 : 00000020 r5 : 00000020 r4 : c179c7c0 r3 : f0a231a0 r2 : 00000020 r1 : 00000020 r0 : 00000000 Flags: nzCv IRQs on FIQs on Mode SVC_32 ISA ARM Segment none Control: 10c5387d Table: 135ec059 DAC: 00000051 Call trace: regmap_mmio_read from _regmap_bus_reg_read+0x78/0xac _regmap_bus_reg_read from _regmap_read+0x60/0x154 _regmap_read from regmap_read+0x3c/0x60 regmap_read from mvebu_gpio_suspend+0xa4/0x14c mvebu_gpio_suspend from dpm_run_callback+0x54/0x180 dpm_run_callback from device_suspend+0x124/0x630 device_suspend from dpm_suspend+0x124/0x270 dpm_suspend from dpm_suspend_start+0x64/0x6c dpm_suspend_start from suspend_devices_and_enter+0x140/0x8e8 suspend_devices_and_enter from pm_suspend+0x2fc/0x308 pm_suspend from state_store+0x6c/0xc8 state_store from kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x10c/0x1f8 kernfs_fop_write_iter from vfs_write+0x270/0x468 vfs_write from ksys_write+0x70/0xf0 ksys_write from ret_fast_syscall+0x0/0x54 Add a NULL check for mvchip->mvpwm before calling the PWM suspend/resume functions.
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 analysisThe 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
>= 4.12, < 6.6.143>= 6.7, < 6.12.94>= 6.13, < 6.18.36>= 6.19, < 7.0.13= 7.1CVSS 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 · scoped6.6.1436.12.946.18.36
6.6.143, 6.12.94, 6.18.36, or 7.0.13 (whichever branch is applicable)
- Apply the vendor patch from commit 4ef24338eda3c7e96d6f94a988266ff16ed3985d which adds a NULL check for mvchip->mvpwm before calling mvebu_pwm_suspend() and mvebu_pwm_resume() functions. The patch adds a conditional check to only call these functions when mvchip->mvpwm is not NULL.
- Alternatively, upgrade the Linux kernel to one of the fixed versions: 6.6.143+, 6.12.94+, 6.18.36+, or 7.0.13+ depending on which branch is in use.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-53237 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
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-2026-53237 in production — separate from our analysis above.
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
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
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