UBUNTU-CVE-2026-22993: Null Pointer Dereference

Q: Who is realistically exposed to this issue?

Systems using the idpf network driver are exposed when an administrator or other highly privileged local user can run ethtool operations against the affected interface. The listed Ubuntu kernel package variants include linux-gcp, linux-riscv, linux-realtime, linux-azure, linux-azure-fde, linux-gke, linux-hwe-edge, and linux-gkeop.

Q: What sequence triggers the failure?

The failure can occur after a soft reset that frees the RSS lookup table while the interface is down, followed by an ethtool operation that reads the RSS LUT. The provided reproduction changes the combined queue count on a down interface and then runs "ethtool -x" against it.

Q: What is the practical impact of successful triggering?

Accessing the missing RSS LUT causes a kernel NULL pointer dereference in idpf_get_rxfh. This results in a kernel Oops and can affect system availability.

Q: What can be avoided until a fix is available?

Avoid querying the RSS lookup table with ethtool immediately after a soft reset or queue-count change while the idpf interface is down. In particular, avoid the combination of changing queue counts and then using "ethtool -x" before the interface state restores the LUT.

Published Jan 23, 2026

Updated

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: idpf: Fix RSS LUT NULL ptr issue after soft reset During soft reset, the RSS LUT is freed and not restored unless the interface is up. If an ethtool command that accesses the rss lut is attempted immediately after reset, it will result in NULL ptr dereference. Also, there is no need to reset the rss lut if the soft reset does not involve queue count change. After soft reset, set the RSS LUT to default values based on the updated queue count only if the reset was a result of a queue count change and the LUT was not configured by the user. In all other cases, don't touch the LUT. Steps to reproduce: Bring the interface down (if up) ifconfig eth1 down update the queue count (eg., 27->20) ethtool -L eth1 combined 20 display the RSS LUT ethtool -x eth1 [82375.558338] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 [82375.558373] #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode [82375.558391] #PF: errorcode(0x0000) - not-present page [82375.558408] PGD 0 P4D 0 [82375.558421] Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI <snip> [82375.558516] RIP: 0010:idpfgetrxfh+0x108/0x150 [idpf] [82375.558786] Call Trace: [82375.558793] <TASK> [82375.558804] rssprepare.isra.0+0x187/0x2a0 [82375.558827] rsspreparedata+0x3a/0x50 [82375.558845] ethnldefaultdoit+0x13d/0x3e0 [82375.558863] genlfamilyrcvmsgdoit+0x11f/0x180 [82375.558886] genlrcvmsg+0x1ad/0x2b0 [82375.558902] ? pfxethnldefaultdoit+0x10/0x10 [82375.558920] ? pfxgenlrcvmsg+0x10/0x10 [82375.558937] netlinkrcvskb+0x58/0x100 [82375.558957] genlrcv+0x2c/0x50 [82375.558971] netlinkunicast+0x289/0x3e0 [82375.558988] netlinksendmsg+0x215/0x440 [82375.559005] syssendto+0x234/0x240 [82375.559555] x64syssendto+0x28/0x30 [82375.560068] x64syscall+0x1909/0x1da0 [82375.560576] dosyscall64+0x7a/0xfa0 [82375.561076] ? clearbhbloop+0x60/0xb0 [82375.561567] entrySYSCALL64afterhwframe+0x76/0x7e <snip>

Affected Software

153 affected componentsFixes available

ubuntu/linux-hwe-edge*

ubuntu/linux-aws-5.0*

ubuntu/linux-aws-5.3*

ubuntu/linux-azure*

ubuntu/linux-azure-5.3*

ubuntu/linux-azure-edge*

ubuntu/linux-gcp*

ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.3*

ubuntu/linux-gke-4.15*

ubuntu/linux-gke-5.4*

ubuntu/linux-gkeop-5.4*

ubuntu/linux-hwe*

ubuntu/linux-hwe-edge*

ubuntu/linux-oem*

ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.0*

ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.3*

ubuntu/linux-aws-5.11*

ubuntu/linux-aws-5.13*

ubuntu/linux-aws-5.8*

ubuntu/linux-azure-5.11*

ubuntu/linux-azure-5.13*

ubuntu/linux-azure-5.8*

ubuntu/linux-azure-fde*

ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.11*

ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.13*

ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.15*

ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.8*

ubuntu/linux-gke*

ubuntu/linux-gke-5.15*

ubuntu/linux-gkeop*

ubuntu/linux-gkeop-5.15*

ubuntu/linux-hwe-5.11*

ubuntu/linux-hwe-5.13*

ubuntu/linux-hwe-5.8*

ubuntu/linux-intel-5.13*

ubuntu/linux-oem-5.10*

ubuntu/linux-oem-5.13*

ubuntu/linux-oem-5.6*

ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.11*

ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.13*

ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.8*

ubuntu/linux-raspi2*

ubuntu/linux-riscv*

ubuntu/linux-riscv-5.11*

ubuntu/linux-riscv-5.8*

ubuntu/linux-allwinner-5.19*

ubuntu/linux-aws-5.19*

ubuntu/linux-aws-6.2*

ubuntu/linux-aws-6.5*

ubuntu/linux-aws-6.8<6.8.0-1061.64~22.04.1

6.8.0-1061.64~22.04.1

ubuntu/linux-azure-5.19*

ubuntu/linux-azure-6.2*

ubuntu/linux-azure-6.5*

ubuntu/linux-azure-6.8<6.8.0-1063.71~22.04.1

6.8.0-1063.71~22.04.1

ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-5.19*

ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-6.2*

ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-6.8<6.8.0-1062.69~22.04.1

6.8.0-1062.69~22.04.1

ubuntu/linux-gcp*

ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.19*

ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.2*

ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.5*

ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.8<6.8.0-1064.72~22.04.1

6.8.0-1064.72~22.04.1

ubuntu/linux-gke*

ubuntu/linux-hwe-5.19*

ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.2*

ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.5*

ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.8<6.8.0-136.136~22.04.1

6.8.0-136.136~22.04.1

ubuntu/linux-ibm-6.8<6.8.0-1061.62~22.04.1

6.8.0-1061.62~22.04.1

ubuntu/linux-intel-iot-realtime*

ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19*

ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2*

ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5*

ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8<6.8.0-136.136.2~22.04.1

6.8.0-136.136.2~22.04.1

ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.2*

ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.5*

ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.8<6.8.0-1059.62~22.04.1

6.8.0-1059.62~22.04.1

ubuntu/linux-oem-5.17*

ubuntu/linux-oem-6.0*

ubuntu/linux-oem-6.1*

ubuntu/linux-oem-6.5*

ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.5*

ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.8<6.8.0-1058.61~22.04.1

6.8.0-1058.61~22.04.1

ubuntu/linux-realtime*

ubuntu/linux-riscv*

ubuntu/linux-riscv-5.19*

ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.5*

ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.8<6.8.0-136.136~22.04.3

6.8.0-136.136~22.04.3

ubuntu/linux-starfive-5.19*

ubuntu/linux-starfive-6.2*

ubuntu/linux-starfive-6.5*

ubuntu/linux-realtime-6.8<6.8.1-1056.57~22.04.2

6.8.1-1056.57~22.04.2

ubuntu/linux-gcp-fips*

ubuntu/linux<6.8.0-136.136

6.8.0-136.136

ubuntu/linux-aws<6.8.0-1061.64

6.8.0-1061.64

ubuntu/linux-aws-6.14*

ubuntu/linux-aws-6.17*

ubuntu/linux-azure<6.8.0-1063.71

6.8.0-1063.71

ubuntu/linux-azure-6.11*

ubuntu/linux-azure-6.14*

ubuntu/linux-azure-6.17<6.17.0-1021.21~24.04.1

6.17.0-1021.21~24.04.1

ubuntu/linux-azure-fde<6.8.0-1062.69

6.8.0-1062.69

ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-6.14*

ubuntu/linux-azure-nvidia*

ubuntu/linux-azure-nvidia-6.14*

ubuntu/linux-gcp<6.8.0-1064.72

6.8.0-1064.72

ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.11*

ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.14*

ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.17<6.17.0-1021.24~24.04.1

6.17.0-1021.24~24.04.1

ubuntu/linux-gke<6.8.0-1059.67

6.8.0-1059.67

ubuntu/linux-gkeop<6.8.0-1046.50

6.8.0-1046.50

ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.11*

ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.14*

ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.17<6.17.0-41.41~24.04.1

6.17.0-41.41~24.04.1

ubuntu/linux-ibm<6.8.0-1061.62

6.8.0-1061.62

ubuntu/linux-lowlatency<6.8.0-136.136.2

6.8.0-136.136.2

ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11*

ubuntu/linux-nvidia<6.8.0-1059.62

6.8.0-1059.62

ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.11*

ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.17<6.17.0-1031.31

6.17.0-1031.31

ubuntu/linux-nvidia-lowlatency<6.8.0-1059.62.1

6.8.0-1059.62.1

ubuntu/linux-nvidia-tegra<6.8.0-1030.31

6.8.0-1030.31

ubuntu/linux-oem-6.11*

ubuntu/linux-oem-6.14*

ubuntu/linux-oem-6.17<6.17.0-1030.30

6.17.0-1030.30

ubuntu/linux-oem-6.8*

ubuntu/linux-oracle<6.8.0-1058.61

6.8.0-1058.61

ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.14*

ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.17<6.17.0-1019.19~24.04.3

6.17.0-1019.19~24.04.3

ubuntu/linux-raspi<6.8.0-1061.65

6.8.0-1061.65

ubuntu/linux-raspi-realtime*

ubuntu/linux-realtime*

ubuntu/linux-riscv*

ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.14*

ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.17*

ubuntu/linux-xilinx<6.8.0-1033.34

6.8.0-1033.34

ubuntu/linux-bluefield<6.8.0-1028.33

6.8.0-1028.33

ubuntu/linux-raspi-realtime<6.8.0-2050.52

6.8.0-2050.52

ubuntu/linux-realtime<6.8.1-1056.57

6.8.1-1056.57

ubuntu/linux-realtime-6.14*

ubuntu/linux-realtime-6.17<6.17.0-1018.20~24.04.1

6.17.0-1018.20~24.04.1

ubuntu/linux-aws-fips<6.8.0-1061.64+fips1

6.8.0-1061.64+fips1

ubuntu/linux-azure-fips<6.8.0-1063.71+fips2

6.8.0-1063.71+fips2

ubuntu/linux-fips<6.8.0-136.136+fips2

6.8.0-136.136+fips2

ubuntu/linux-gcp-fips<6.8.0-1064.72+fips1

6.8.0-1064.72+fips1

ubuntu/linux*

ubuntu/linux-aws*

ubuntu/linux-azure*

ubuntu/linux-azure-fde*

ubuntu/linux-gcp*

ubuntu/linux-oracle*

ubuntu/linux-raspi*

ubuntu/linux-realtime*

ubuntu/linux-riscv*

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-aws-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1061.64~22.04.1
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1063.71~22.04.1
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1062.69~22.04.1
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1064.72~22.04.1
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-136.136~22.04.1
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-ibm-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1061.62~22.04.1
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-136.136.2~22.04.1
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1059.62~22.04.1
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1058.61~22.04.1
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-136.136~22.04.3
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-realtime-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.1-1056.57~22.04.2
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-136.136
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-aws to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1061.64
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1063.71
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-6.17 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.17.0-1021.21~24.04.1
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-fde to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1062.69
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gcp to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1064.72
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.17 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.17.0-1021.24~24.04.1
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gke to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1059.67
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gkeop to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1046.50
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.17 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.17.0-41.41~24.04.1
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-ibm to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1061.62
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-lowlatency to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-136.136.2
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-nvidia to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1059.62
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.17 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.17.0-1031.31
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-nvidia-lowlatency to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1059.62.1
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-nvidia-tegra to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1030.31
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-oem-6.17 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.17.0-1030.30
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-oracle to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1058.61
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.17 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.17.0-1019.19~24.04.3
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-raspi to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1061.65
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-xilinx to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1033.34
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-bluefield to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1028.33
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-raspi-realtime to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-2050.52
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-realtime to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.1-1056.57
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-realtime-6.17 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.17.0-1018.20~24.04.1
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-aws-fips to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1061.64+fips1
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-fips to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1063.71+fips2
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-fips to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-136.136+fips2
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gcp-fips to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 6.8.0-1064.72+fips1
Configuration
After a soft reset caused by a queue count change, restore the RSS LUT to default values based on the updated queue count only when the LUT was not configured by the user; do not reset or modify the LUT for soft resets unrelated to queue count changes or when it is user-configured.
idpf RSS LUT RSS LUT after soft reset = Default values based on the updated queue count

Event History

Jan 23, 2026

CVE Published

via OSV·04:15 PM

Data Sourced

via OSV·04:15 PM

DescriptionSeverityAffected Software

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is realistically exposed to this issue?

Systems using the idpf network driver are exposed when an administrator or other highly privileged local user can run ethtool operations against the affected interface. The listed Ubuntu kernel package variants include linux-gcp, linux-riscv, linux-realtime, linux-azure, linux-azure-fde, linux-gke, linux-hwe-edge, and linux-gkeop.

What sequence triggers the failure?

The failure can occur after a soft reset that frees the RSS lookup table while the interface is down, followed by an ethtool operation that reads the RSS LUT. The provided reproduction changes the combined queue count on a down interface and then runs "ethtool -x" against it.

What is the practical impact of successful triggering?

Accessing the missing RSS LUT causes a kernel NULL pointer dereference in idpf_get_rxfh. This results in a kernel Oops and can affect system availability.

What can be avoided until a fix is available?

Avoid querying the RSS lookup table with ethtool immediately after a soft reset or queue-count change while the idpf interface is down. In particular, avoid the combination of changing queue counts and then using "ethtool -x" before the interface state restores the LUT.

UBUNTU-CVE-2026-22993: Null Pointer Dereference

Affected Software

Remediation

Event History

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is realistically exposed to this issue?

What sequence triggers the failure?

What is the practical impact of successful triggering?

What can be avoided until a fix is available?

Company

Resources

Contact

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is realistically exposed to this issue?

What sequence triggers the failure?

What is the practical impact of successful triggering?

What can be avoided until a fix is available?