Linux Kernel up to 6.19.8 null pointer dereference

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.19.8. It has been classified as critical. This vulnerability affects unknown code. The manipulation leads to null pointer dereference. This vulnerability is referenced as CVE-2026-43431. No exploit is available. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.19.8 and classified as critical. This issue affects an unknown code block. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-476. A NULL pointer dereference occurs when the application dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid, but is NULL, typically causing a crash or exit. Impacted is availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xhci: Fix NULL pointer dereference when reading portli debugfs files Michal reported and debgged a NULL pointer dereference bug in the recently added portli debugfs files Oops is caused when there are more port registers counted in xhci->max_ports than ports reported by Supported Protocol capabilities. This is possible if max_ports is more than maximum port number, or if there are gaps between ports of different speeds the 'Supported Protocol' capabilities. In such cases port->rhub will be NULL so we can't reach xhci behind it. Add an explicit NULL check for this case, and print portli in hex without dereferencing port->rhub.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-43431 since 05/01/2026. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 313438 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-43431), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.19.9 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 9c8bef223c6e991276188d30d74bdb2cbd8be652/ae4ff9dead5efa2025eddfcdb29411432bf40a7c is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at Tenable (313438). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.19.0
• 6.19.1
• 6.19.2
• 6.19.3
• 6.19.4
• 6.19.5
• 6.19.6
• 6.19.7
• 6.19.8

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

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