CVE-2026-99183
Received Received - Intake

Null Pointer Dereference in Linux Kernel Rocket Accelerator

Vulnerability report for CVE-2026-99183, including description, CVSS score, EPSS score, affected products, exploitability, helpful resources, and attack-flow context.

Publication date: 2026-10-28

Last updated on: 2026-10-28

Assigner: kernel.org

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: accel/rocket: search every core slot when looking up a scheduler sched_to_core() walks rdev->cores[] up to rdev->num_cores, and rocket_remove() decrements num_cores for every core it removes. Unbind a core that is not the last one and the cores behind it fall outside the search, so sched_to_core() returns NULL for a core that is still bound and still running jobs. Neither caller checks the result: rocket_job_run(): rocket_fence_create(core), core->dev rocket_job_timedout(): dev_err(core->dev, "NPU job timed out") Unbinding the middle core of the three on an RK3588 while three clients are submitting to all of them faults twice, once from the surviving core's job queue and once from its reset work: KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000220-0x0000000000000227] Workqueue: fdad0000.npu drm_sched_run_job_work [gpu_sched] pc : rocket_job_run+0x234/0x838 [rocket] Call trace: rocket_job_run+0x234/0x838 [rocket] drm_sched_run_job_work+0x2cc/0xad8 [gpu_sched] process_one_work+0x640/0x14f0 KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000000-0x0000000000000007] Workqueue: rocket-reset-2 drm_sched_job_timedout [gpu_sched] pc : rocket_job_timedout+0xf0/0x1e0 [rocket] Call trace: rocket_job_timedout+0xf0/0x1e0 [rocket] drm_sched_job_timedout+0x188/0x6a0 [gpu_sched] Both are the third core: the workqueue names are its device and its core->index, and it was left at slot 2 while num_cores had dropped to 2. Search all the slots that were allocated, the way find_core_for_dev() now does. A core that is still bound is then found, and the two callers get the pointer they already assume they have. This does not make unbinding one core out of several safe. An open client keeps an entity pointing at the scheduler of the core that went away: drm_sched reports it as not ready for every job that lands on it, and the client waits in dma_fence_default_wait for a fence that will never signal. Stopping the NULL dereference is what belongs in a fix; the rest wants more thought.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-10-28
Last Modified
2026-10-28
Generated
2026-10-28
AI Q&A
2026-10-28
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
EUVD

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 3 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
Linux Linux 0810d5ad88a18f1e6d549853a388ad0316f74e36
Linux Linux 0810d5ad88a18f1e6d549853a388ad0316f74e36
Linux Linux 6.18

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

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Executive Summary

This vulnerability in the Linux kernel involves a flaw in the accelerator subsystem, specifically in the rocket driver. The issue occurs when unbinding a core from the scheduler, which incorrectly updates the core count without properly searching all allocated slots. This can lead to a null-pointer dereference when the scheduler tries to access a core that is still active but not found due to the incorrect search.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability is specific to the Linux kernel's accel/rocket subsystem and may not have direct network detection methods. Monitor kernel logs for null-pointer dereference errors related to rocket_job_run or rocket_job_timedout functions. Check for KASAN reports indicating out-of-bounds access in core slot searches.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can cause system crashes due to null-pointer dereferences, leading to kernel panics or errors. It may also result in jobs failing to execute properly, causing application hangs or unexpected behavior in systems using the affected Linux kernel components.

Mitigation Strategies

Apply the latest Linux kernel patches that address this issue. Avoid unbinding middle cores in multi-core configurations until a full fix is available. Monitor for job timeouts or crashes in GPU/NPU workloads and restart affected services if errors occur.

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