In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net: phy: fix null-ptr-deref while probe() failed
I got a null-ptr-deref report as following when doing fault injection test:
BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000058
Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP KASAN PTI
CPU: 1 PID: 253 Comm: 507-spi-dm9051 Tainted: G B N 6.1.0-rc3+
Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.13.0-1ubuntu1.1 04/01/2014
RIP: 0010:klist_put+0x2d/0xd0
Call Trace:
klist_remove+0xf1/0x1c0
device_release_driver_internal+0x23e/0x2d0
bus_remove_device+0x1bd/0x240
device_del+0x357/0x770
phy_device_remove+0x11/0x30
mdiobus_unregister+0xa5/0x140
release_nodes+0x6a/0xa0
devres_release_all+0xf8/0x150
device_unbind_cleanup+0x19/0xd0
//probe path:
phy_device_register()
device_add()
phy_connect
phy_attach_direct() //set device driver
probe() //it's failed, driver is not bound
device_bind_driver() // probe failed, it's not called
//remove path:
phy_device_remove()
device_del()
device_release_driver_internal()
__device_release_driver() //dev->drv is not NULL
klist_remove() <- knode_driver is not added yet, cause null-ptr-deref
In phy_attach_direct(), after setting the 'dev->driver', probe() fails,
device_bind_driver() is not called, so the knode_driver->n_klist is not
set, then it causes null-ptr-deref in __device_release_driver() while
deleting device. Fix this by setting dev->driver to NULL in the error
path in phy_attach_direct().
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (5.5): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 5.5 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.
- EG Severity
- 5.5 MEDIUMCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
- EG Likelihood
- 0.3% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-10-25). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
- Confirmed exploitation
- None on record (CISA KEV, EG-KEV Tier 1)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
- EG Priority
- SSVC Track at medium mission impactTrack at every mission impact level.CISA BOD 26-04: 60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.Each input and its source, and whom BOD 26-04 binds: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at every mission impact level.
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines.
Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.
The score's inputs: In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it