In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
powerpc: Don't try to copy PPR for task with NULL pt_regs
powerpc sets up PF_KTHREAD and PF_IO_WORKER with a NULL pt_regs, which
from my (arguably very short) checking is not commonly done for other
archs. This is fine, except when PF_IO_WORKER's have been created and
the task does something that causes a coredump to be generated. Then we
get this crash:
Kernel attempted to read user page (160) - exploit attempt? (uid: 1000)
BUG: Kernel NULL pointer dereference on read at 0x00000160
Faulting instruction address: 0xc0000000000c3a60
Oops: Kernel access of bad area, sig: 11 [#1]
LE PAGE_SIZE=64K MMU=Radix SMP NR_CPUS=32 NUMA pSeries
Modules linked in: bochs drm_vram_helper drm_kms_helper xts binfmt_misc ecb ctr syscopyarea sysfillrect cbc sysimgblt drm_ttm_helper aes_generic ttm sg libaes evdev joydev virtio_balloon vmx_crypto gf128mul drm dm_mod fuse loop configfs drm_panel_orientation_quirks ip_tables x_tables autofs4 hid_generic usbhid hid xhci_pci xhci_hcd usbcore usb_common sd_mod
CPU: 1 PID: 1982 Comm: ppc-crash Not tainted 6.3.0-rc2+ #88
Hardware name: IBM pSeries (emulated by qemu) POWER9 (raw) 0x4e1202 0xf000005 of:SLOF,HEAD hv:linux,kvm pSeries
NIP: c0000000000c3a60 LR: c000000000039944 CTR: c0000000000398e0
REGS: c0000000041833b0 TRAP: 0300 Not tainted (6.3.0-rc2+)
MSR: 800000000280b033 CR: 88082828 XER: 200400f8
...
NIP memcpy_power7+0x200/0x7d0
LR ppr_get+0x64/0xb0
Call Trace:
ppr_get+0x40/0xb0 (unreliable)
__regset_get+0x180/0x1f0
regset_get_alloc+0x64/0x90
elf_core_dump+0xb98/0x1b60
do_coredump+0x1c34/0x24a0
get_signal+0x71c/0x1410
do_notify_resume+0x140/0x6f0
interrupt_exit_user_prepare_main+0x29c/0x320
interrupt_exit_user_prepare+0x6c/0xa0
interrupt_return_srr_user+0x8/0x138
Because ppr_get() is trying to copy from a PF_IO_WORKER with a NULL
pt_regs.
Check for a valid pt_regs in both ppc_get/ppr_set, and return an error
if not set. The actual error value doesn't seem to be important here, so
just pick -EINVAL.
[mpe: Trim oops in change log, add Fixes & Cc stable]
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
- 0.1% 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