CVE-2026-31736
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NULL Dereference in Linux Kernel MTK PPE Ethernet Driver

Publication date: 2026-05-01

Last updated on: 2026-05-01

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ethernet: mtk_ppe: avoid NULL deref when gmac0 is disabled If the gmac0 is disabled, the precheck for a valid ingress device will cause a NULL pointer deref and crash the system. This happens because eth->netdev[0] will be NULL but the code will directly try to access netdev_ops. Instead of just checking for the first net_device, it must be checked if any of the mtk_eth net_devices is matching the netdev_ops of the ingress device.
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Meta Information
Published
2026-05-01
Last Modified
2026-05-01
Generated
2026-05-07
AI Q&A
2026-05-01
EPSS Evaluated
2026-05-05
NVD
CVE-2026-31736
EUVD
EUVD-2026-26549
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel *
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?

This vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's ethernet driver for the MediaTek PPE (mtk_ppe). When the gmac0 interface is disabled, the code attempts to access a network device pointer that is NULL, leading to a NULL pointer dereference and causing the system to crash.

Specifically, the code checks only the first network device (eth->netdev[0]) without verifying if it is valid. If gmac0 is disabled, this pointer is NULL, but the code still tries to access its operations (netdev_ops), resulting in a crash.

The fix involves checking all mtk_eth network devices to find one matching the ingress device's netdev_ops instead of just the first device.


How can this vulnerability impact me? :

This vulnerability can cause the affected Linux system to crash due to a NULL pointer dereference when the gmac0 ethernet interface is disabled.

Such a crash can lead to denial of service, interrupting normal operations and potentially causing data loss or system downtime.


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