CVE Intelligence
Medium Memory corruption

CVE-2026-23286 — atm: lec: fix null-ptr-deref in lec_arp_clear_vccs

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: atm: lec: fix null-ptr-deref in lec_arp_clear_vccs syzkaller reported a null-ptr-deref in lec_arp_clear_vccs(). This issue can be easily reproduced using the syzkaller reproducer. In the ATM LANE (LAN Emulation) module, the same atm_vcc can be shared by multiple lec_arp_table entries (e.g., via entry->vcc or entry->recv_vcc). When the underlying VCC is closed, lec_vcc_close() iterates over all ARP entries and calls lec_arp_clear_vccs() for each matched entry. For example, when lec_vcc_close() iterates through the hlists in priv->lec_arp_empty_ones or other ARP tables: 1. In the first iteration, for the first matched ARP entry sharing the VCC, lec_arp_clear_vccs() frees the associated vpriv (which is vcc->user_back) and sets vcc->user_back to NULL. 2. In the second iteration, for the next matched ARP entry sharing the same VCC, lec_arp_clear_vccs() is called again. It obtains a NULL vpriv from vcc->user_back (via LEC_VCC_PRIV(vcc)) and then attempts to dereference it via `vcc->pop = vpriv->old_pop`, leading to a null-ptr-deref crash. Fix this by adding a null check for vpriv before dereferencing it. If vpriv is already NULL, it means the VCC has been cleared by a previous call, so we can safely skip the cleanup and just clear the entry's vcc/recv_vcc pointers. The entire cleanup block (including vcc_release_async()) is placed inside the vpriv guard because a NULL vpriv indicates the VCC has already been fully released by a prior iteration — repeating the teardown would redundantly set flags and trigger callbacks on an already-closing socket. The Fixes tag points to the initial commit because the entry->vcc path has been vulnerable since the original code. The entry->recv_vcc path was later added by commit 8d9f73c0ad2f ("atm: fix a memory leak of vcc->user_back") with the same pattern, and both paths are fixed here.

Published Mar 25, 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: Linux

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 0.1% (30-day exploitation probability)+0
  • Technical severity (medium)+3

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
0.13%
ahead of 2% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
Linux
Linux and 1 more
CVSS base
5.5
Medium · 1 source(s)

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Linux Linux, Linux Linux Kernel).
  2. Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
  3. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (memory corruption), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Linux Linux version 2.6.12≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 and < 101bacb303e89dc2e0640ae6a5e0fb97c4eb45bb≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 and < 5f1cfea7921f5c126a441d973690eeba52677b64≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 and < 7ea92ab075d809ec8a96669a5ecf00f752057875≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 and < 2d9f57ea29a1f1772373b98a509b44d49fda609e≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 and < 622062f24644b4536d3f437e0cf7a8c4bb421665≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 and < e9665986eb127290ceb535bd5d04d7a84265d94f≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 and < 30c9744a989feb22cfbb84170eb0e038a7a2c1da
and 1 more ≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 and < 8aff65a82b6389ec674d46e5b3d3ae6f07db5e3e
Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Linux Linux Kernel version 2.6.12-rc5version 7.0-rc2version 7.0-rc1≥ 2.6.12.1 and < 5.10.253version 2.6.12-rc4version 2.6.12-rc3version 2.6.12-rc2version 2.6.12
and 6 more ≥ 6.19 and < 6.19.7≥ 6.13 and < 6.18.17≥ 6.7 and < 6.12.77≥ 6.2 and < 6.6.130≥ 5.16 and < 6.1.167≥ 5.11 and < 5.15.203
Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
5.5 CVSS 3.1 Medium 1.8 3.6 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-476 · NULL Pointer Dereference

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.13%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
  • Correlate service crashes/restarts with inbound traffic; repeated crashes may indicate attempts.
endpoint telemetry (EDR)crash dumps

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · linux/linux
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 5.5
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Analyzed
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVE published
    Mar 25, 2026 · Linux

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

8 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Linux
every CVE for this vendor
Memory corruption
same class
CWE-476
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-99999 ipv4: validate checksum_start before completing checksum 7h
  • CVE-2026-98432 ipv4: free inet_opt and ireq_opt after an RCU grace period 7h
  • CVE-2026-98424 wifi: cfg80211: undo netns switch if renaming the wiphy fails 1d
  • CVE-2026-98425 wifi: mac80211: don't warn when an IBSS has no channel to scan 1d
  • CVE-2026-98426 wifi: mwifiex: fix IRQ leak using wrong index in MSI-X error path 1d
  • CVE-2026-98427 net/sched: codel: bound the dropping loop per dequeue call 1d

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No CISA SSVC assessment.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-23286 is "atm: lec: fix null-ptr-deref in lec_arp_clear_vccs", rated Medium. It affects Linux (Linux); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 5.5 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.13% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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