CVE-2026-43122
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ACPI Processor NULL Pointer Dereference in Linux Kernel

Publication date: 2026-05-06

Last updated on: 2026-05-06

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ACPI: processor: Update cpuidle driver check in __acpi_processor_start() Commit 7a8c994cbb2d ("ACPI: processor: idle: Optimize ACPI idle driver registration") moved the ACPI idle driver registration to acpi_processor_driver_init() and acpi_processor_power_init() does not register an idle driver any more. Accordingly, the cpuidle driver check in __acpi_processor_start() needs to be updated to avoid calling acpi_processor_power_init() without a cpuidle driver, in which case the registration of the cpuidle device in that function would lead to a NULL pointer dereference in __cpuidle_register_device().
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Meta Information
Published
2026-05-06
Last Modified
2026-05-06
Generated
2026-06-16
AI Q&A
2026-05-06
EPSS Evaluated
2026-06-14
NVD
CVE-2026-43122
EUVD
EUVD-2026-27685
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 ACPI processor idle driver. A recent code change moved the ACPI idle driver registration to a different initialization function, but the check for the cpuidle driver in the __acpi_processor_start() function was not updated accordingly.

Because of this, __acpi_processor_start() might call acpi_processor_power_init() without a cpuidle driver being registered. This leads to an attempt to register a cpuidle device with a NULL pointer, causing a NULL pointer dereference in the __cpuidle_register_device() function.

Impact Analysis

The NULL pointer dereference caused by this vulnerability can lead to a kernel crash or system instability. This may result in denial of service conditions where the affected Linux system becomes unresponsive or crashes unexpectedly.

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