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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2026-53385

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-07-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.15 / 4.20 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click 4 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 · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vc_screen: fix null-ptr-deref in vcs_notifier() during concurrent vcs_write A KASAN null-ptr-deref was observed in vcs_notifier(): BUG: KASAN: null-ptr-deref in vcs_notifier+0x98/0x130 Read of size 2 at addr qmp_cmd_name: qmp_capabilities, arguments: {} The issue is a race condition in vcs_write(). When the console_lock is temporarily dropped (to copy data from userspace), the vc_data pointer obtained from vcs_vc() may become stale. After re-acquiring the lock, vcs_vc() is called again to re-validate the pointer. If the vc has been deallocated in the meantime, vcs_vc() returns NULL, and the while loop breaks (with written > 0). However, after the loop, vcs_scr_updated(vc) is still called with the now-NULL vc pointer, leading to a null pointer dereference in the notifier chain (vcs_notifier dereferences param->vc). Fix this by adding a NULL check for vc before calling vcs_scr_updated().

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:>= 4.14.327, < 4.15>= 4.19.284, < 4.20>= 5.4.244, < 5.5>= 5.10.181, < 5.10.260>= 5.15.113, < 5.15.211>= 6.1.30, < 6.1.177>= 6.3.4, < 6.4>= 6.4.1, < 6.6.144>= 6.7, < 6.12.95>= 6.13, < 6.18.37>= 6.19, < 7.0.14>= 7.1, < 7.1.2

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 4.15 / 4.20 / 5.5 or later
Fixed in 4.154.205.5
Recommended fix High confidence

4.15 or later for 4.14 branch; 4.20 or later for 4.19 branch; 5.5 or later for 5.4 branch; 5.10.260 or later for 5.10 branch

  1. Identify the currently running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Check if the running version falls within one of the affected ranges: 4.14.327 to 4.14.x, 4.19.284 to 4.19.x, 5.4.244 to 5.4.x, or 5.10.181 to 5.10.x
  3. If affected, schedule a maintenance window for kernel upgrade
  4. Upgrade to a kernel version >= 4.15 (for 4.14 branch), >= 4.20 (for 4.19 branch), >= 5.5 (for 5.4 branch), or >= 5.10.260 (for 5.10 branch)
  5. Reboot the system to load the new kernel
  6. Verify the fix is applied by checking that vcs_write() now includes a NULL check before calling vcs_scr_updated()
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require driver recompilation and could introduce compatibility issues with proprietary kernel modules; ensure all necessary kernel modules are available for the target version

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-2026-53385 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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