CVE-2026-53214
Received Received - Intake
Null Pointer Dereference in Linux Kernel IPv6

Publication date: 2026-06-25

Last updated on: 2026-06-25

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv6: Fix a potential NPD in cleanup_prefix_route() addrconf_get_prefix_route() can return the fib6_null_entry sentinel entry which has a NULL fib6_table pointer. Therefore, before setting the route's expiration time, check that we are not working with this entry, as otherwise a NPD will be triggered [1]. Note that the other callers of addrconf_get_prefix_route() are not susceptible to this bug: 1. addrconf_prefix_rcv(): Requests a route with the 'RTF_ADDRCONF | RTF_PREFIX_RT' flags which are not set on fib6_null_entry. 2. modify_prefix_route(): Fixed by commit a747e02430df ("ipv6: avoid possible NULL deref in modify_prefix_route()"). 3. __ipv6_ifa_notify(): Calls ip6_del_rt() which specifically checks for fib6_null_entry and returns an error. [1] Oops: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0xdffffc0000000006: 0000 [#1] SMP KASAN KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000030-0x0000000000000037] [...] Call Trace: <TASK> __kasan_check_byte (mm/kasan/common.c:573) lock_acquire.part.0 (kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5842 (discriminator 1)) _raw_spin_lock_bh (kernel/locking/spinlock.c:182 (discriminator 1)) cleanup_prefix_route (net/ipv6/addrconf.c:1280) ipv6_del_addr (net/ipv6/addrconf.c:1342) inet6_addr_del.isra.0 (net/ipv6/addrconf.c:3119) inet6_rtm_deladdr (net/ipv6/addrconf.c:4812) rtnetlink_rcv_msg (net/core/rtnetlink.c:6997) netlink_rcv_skb (net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2555) netlink_unicast (net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1344) netlink_sendmsg (net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1899) __sock_sendmsg (net/socket.c:802 (discriminator 4)) ____sys_sendmsg (net/socket.c:2698) ___sys_sendmsg (net/socket.c:2752) __sys_sendmsg (net/socket.c:2784) do_syscall_64 (arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94) entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe (arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:121)
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
Probability:
Percentile:
Meta Information
Published
2026-06-25
Last Modified
2026-06-25
Generated
2026-06-25
AI Q&A
2026-06-25
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-53214
EUVD
EUVD-2026-39305
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel *
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
CWE Icon
KEV
KEV Icon
CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Quick Actions
Instant insights powered by AI
Executive Summary

This vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's IPv6 networking code, specifically in the cleanup_prefix_route() function. The function addrconf_get_prefix_route() can return a special sentinel entry called fib6_null_entry, which has a NULL pointer for its fib6_table field. If the code does not check for this sentinel entry before setting the route's expiration time, it can cause a null pointer dereference (NPD), leading to a kernel crash or general protection fault.

The vulnerability is triggered because cleanup_prefix_route() does not properly verify that the route it is working with is not the fib6_null_entry before accessing its fields. Other functions calling addrconf_get_prefix_route() are not affected due to additional checks or different usage patterns.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can cause a kernel crash due to a null pointer dereference when the affected function tries to access invalid memory. Such a crash can lead to system instability, denial of service (DoS), or unexpected reboots.

If exploited, an attacker could potentially disrupt network services or cause downtime on systems running vulnerable Linux kernels, impacting availability.

Chat Assistant
Ask questions about this CVE
Hi! I’m here to help you understand CVE-2026-53214. Ask me anything about the vulnerability, its impact, or mitigation strategies.
0/70
EPSS Chart