CVE-2026-23174
Unknown Unknown - Not Provided
NULL Pointer Dereference in Linux NVMe Driver DMA Handling

Publication date: 2026-02-14

Last updated on: 2026-02-14

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nvme-pci: handle changing device dma map requirements The initial state of dma_needs_unmap may be false, but change to true while mapping the data iterator. Enabling swiotlb is one such case that can change the result. The nvme driver needs to save the mapped dma vectors to be unmapped later, so allocate as needed during iteration rather than assume it was always allocated at the beginning. This fixes a NULL dereference from accessing an uninitialized dma_vecs when the device dma unmapping requirements change mid-iteration.
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Meta Information
Published
2026-02-14
Last Modified
2026-02-14
Generated
2026-06-16
AI Q&A
2026-02-14
EPSS Evaluated
2026-06-15
NVD
CVE-2026-23174
EUVD
EUVD-2026-5865
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel *
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Exploitability
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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN
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Executive Summary

This vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's nvme-pci driver related to handling device DMA (Direct Memory Access) map requirements. The issue arises because the initial state of dma_needs_unmap may be false but can change to true during the data mapping process, such as when enabling swiotlb. The nvme driver incorrectly assumes that DMA vectors are always allocated at the beginning, but since the requirements can change mid-iteration, it may attempt to access uninitialized dma_vecs, leading to a NULL pointer dereference. The fix involves allocating DMA vectors as needed during iteration rather than assuming they were allocated initially.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can cause a NULL pointer dereference in the nvme-pci driver, which may lead to a kernel crash or system instability. Such crashes can result in denial of service conditions, potentially disrupting system operations that rely on NVMe storage devices.

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