CVE-2026-80817
Received Received - Intake

NULL Pointer Dereference in Linux Kernel iommufd

Publication date: 2026-09-04

Last updated on: 2026-09-04

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: iommu/iommufd: Fix NULL pointer deref in iommufd_ioas_change_process when racing with iopt_map_file_pages iommufd_ioas_change_process() iterates every IOAS area while only holding every IOAS iova_rwsem, so it assumes every area has a non-NULL pages pointer. That assumption can be false when it runs concurrently with iopt_map_file_pages(). iopt_map_pages() executes in two phases. It first creates the area and inserts it into the interval tree under iova_rwsem, with area->pages still NULL. It then drops iova_rwsem and later fills area->pages under domains_rwsem. This leaves a window between area creation and area->pages fill where a concurrent iommufd_ioas_change_process() can observe the area and dereference a NULL area->pages pointer, leading to a NULL pointer dereference: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 00000000000000c0 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 4b655067 P4D 4b655067 PUD 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 11841 Comm: syz.1.628 Not tainted 7.1.0 #3 PREEMPT(full) Hardware name: QEMU Ubuntu 24.04 PC v2 (i440FX + PIIX, arch_caps fix, 1996), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:iommufd_ioas_change_process+0x419/0xd50 drivers/iommu/iommufd/ioas.c:538 Code: 48 89 c3 48 85 c0 0f 84 cc 00 00 00 e8 10 f5 cb fd 48 8d 7b 68 e8 a7 b5 eb fd 48 8b 6b 68 48 8d bd c0 00 00 00 e8 17 b2 eb fd <8b> ad c0 00 00 00 bf 01 00 00 00 89 ee e8 85 ef cb fd 83 fd 01 74 RSP: 0018:ffffc90015c17d28 EFLAGS: 00010246 RAX: ffff8880186d5328 RBX: ffff88801d25e240 RCX: 0000000080000000 RDX: 00000000000002d7 RSI: ffffffff83ba9e10 RDI: 00000000000000c0 RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: ffffffff8e781eb8 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 00000000000000c0 R11: ffffffff83ba9e29 R12: ffff88802e216008 R13: ffff88802e216000 R14: 0000000000000001 R15: 0000000000000000 FS: 00007f4aea3f66c0(0000) GS:ffff8880b1fa1000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00000000000000c0 CR3: 000000004b75c000 CR4: 0000000000350ef0 Call Trace: <TASK> iommufd_fops_ioctl+0x287/0x400 drivers/iommu/iommufd/main.c:533 vfs_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:51 [inline] __do_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:597 [inline] __se_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:583 [inline] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x120/0x170 fs/ioctl.c:583 x64_sys_call+0x1092/0x1fb0 arch/x86/include/generated/asm/syscalls_64.h:17 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 [inline] do_syscall_64+0x10a/0x680 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f RIP: 0033:0x7f4aec1a82bd Code: ff c3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 90 f3 0f 1e fa 48 89 f8 48 89 f7 48 89 d6 48 89 ca 4d 89 c2 4d 89 c8 4c 8b 4c 24 08 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 c7 c1 b0 ff ff ff f7 d8 64 89 01 48 RSP: 002b:00007f4aea3f6018 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000010 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 00007f4aec436090 RCX: 00007f4aec1a82bd RDX: 0000200000000180 RSI: 0000000000003b92 RDI: 0000000000000003 RBP: 00007f4aec250295 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: 00007f4aec436128 R14: 00007f4aec436090 R15: 00007ffd04ef23e0 </TASK> Modules linked in: CR2: 00000000000000c0 ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- RIP: 0010:iommufd_ioas_change_process+0x419/0xd50 drivers/iommu/iommufd/ioas.c:538 Code: 48 89 c3 48 85 c0 0f 84 cc 00 00 00 e8 10 f5 cb fd 48 8d 7b 68 e8 a7 b5 eb fd 48 8b 6b 68 48 8d bd c0 00 00 00 e8 17 b2 eb fd <8b> ad c0 00 00 00 bf 01 00 00 00 89 ee e8 85 ef cb fd 83 fd 01 74 RSP: 0018:ffffc90015c17d28 EFLAGS: 00010246 RAX: ffff8880186d5328 RBX: ffff88801d25e240 RCX: 0000000080000000 RDX: 00000000000002d7 RSI: ffffffff83ba9e10 RDI: 00000000000000c0 RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: ffffffff8e781eb8 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 00000000000000c0 R11: ffffffff83ba9e29 R12: ffff88802e216008 R13: ffff88802e216000 R14: 0000000000000001 R15: 0000000000000000 FS: 00007f4aea3f66c0(000 ---truncated---

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Meta Information

Published
2026-09-04
Last Modified
2026-09-04
Generated
2026-09-04
AI Q&A
2026-09-04
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-80817
EUVD
EUVD-2026-71252

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel 7.1.0

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Exploitability

CWE
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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

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Executive Summary

This is a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in the Linux kernel's IOMMU subsystem. It occurs in the iommufd_ioas_change_process function when it races with iopt_map_file_pages. The issue arises because iommufd_ioas_change_process assumes all IOAS areas have a non-NULL pages pointer while iterating, but this assumption fails when the area is created but not yet initialized by iopt_map_file_pages, leading to a kernel crash.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability is specific to the Linux kernel's IOMMU subsystem and requires kernel-level detection. Monitor kernel logs for NULL pointer dereference errors in iommufd components. Check for oops messages or kernel panics related to iommu or iommufd. Use dmesg to inspect recent kernel logs for errors like 'BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference' in the iommufd_ioas_change_process function.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can cause a kernel crash (oops) leading to a denial of service on affected systems. It may allow local attackers to trigger system instability or reboot, potentially disrupting services or causing data loss if not handled by the system's error recovery mechanisms.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability is a kernel NULL pointer dereference in the Linux iommu subsystem, which could lead to system crashes or instability. While it does not directly impact data confidentiality or integrity, such kernel-level vulnerabilities may violate compliance requirements for availability in standards like GDPR (Article 32) and HIPAA (Security Rule 164.308(a)(7)(ii)(A)).

Mitigation Strategies

Apply the latest kernel patches from your Linux distribution to resolve this issue. If patches are unavailable, disable the iommufd module if not required: 'modprobe -r iommufd'. Avoid running untrusted user-space applications that could trigger the race condition. Monitor vendor advisories for updates.

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