In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
io_uring: check for non-NULL file pointer in io_file_can_poll()
In earlier kernels, it was possible to trigger a NULL pointer
dereference off the forced async preparation path, if no file had
been assigned. The trace leading to that looks as follows:
BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 00000000000000b0
PGD 0 P4D 0
Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP
CPU: 67 PID: 1633 Comm: buf-ring-invali Not tainted 6.8.0-rc3+ #1
Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS unknown 2/2/2022
RIP: 0010:io_buffer_select+0xc3/0x210
Code: 00 00 48 39 d1 0f 82 ae 00 00 00 48 81 4b 48 00 00 01 00 48 89 73 70 0f b7 50 0c 66 89 53 42 85 ed 0f 85 d2 00 00 00 48 8b 13 <48> 8b 92 b0 00 00 00 48 83 7a 40 00 0f 84 21 01 00 00 4c 8b 20 5b
RSP: 0018:ffffb7bec38c7d88 EFLAGS: 00010246
RAX: ffff97af2be61000 RBX: ffff97af234f1700 RCX: 0000000000000040
RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: ffff97aecfb04820 RDI: ffff97af234f1700
RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 0000000000200030 R09: 0000000000000020
R10: ffffb7bec38c7dc8 R11: 000000000000c000 R12: ffffb7bec38c7db8
R13: ffff97aecfb05800 R14: ffff97aecfb05800 R15: ffff97af2be5e000
FS: 00007f852f74b740(0000) GS:ffff97b1eeec0000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
CR2: 00000000000000b0 CR3: 000000016deab005 CR4: 0000000000370ef0
Call Trace:
? __die+0x1f/0x60
? page_fault_oops+0x14d/0x420
? do_user_addr_fault+0x61/0x6a0
? exc_page_fault+0x6c/0x150
? asm_exc_page_fault+0x22/0x30
? io_buffer_select+0xc3/0x210
__io_import_iovec+0xb5/0x120
io_readv_prep_async+0x36/0x70
io_queue_sqe_fallback+0x20/0x260
io_submit_sqes+0x314/0x630
__do_sys_io_uring_enter+0x339/0xbc0
? __do_sys_io_uring_register+0x11b/0xc50
? vm_mmap_pgoff+0xce/0x160
do_syscall_64+0x5f/0x180
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x46/0x4e
RIP: 0033:0x55e0a110a67e
Code: ba cc 00 00 00 45 31 c0 44 0f b6 92 d0 00 00 00 31 d2 41 b9 08 00 00 00 41 83 e2 01 41 c1 e2 04 41 09 c2 b8 aa 01 00 00 0f 05 90 89 30 eb a9 0f 1f 40 00 48 8b 42 20 8b 00 a8 06 75 af 85 f6
because the request is marked forced ASYNC and has a bad file fd, and
hence takes the forced async prep path.
Current kernels with the request async prep cleaned up can no longer hit
this issue, but for ease of backporting, let's add this safety check in
here too as it really doesn't hurt. For both cases, this will inevitably
end with a CQE posted with -EBADF.
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
- 0.2% 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