Linux Kernel up to 7.0.9 nexthop nexthop_fib6_nh null pointer dereference

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.0.9. This issue affects the function nexthop_fib6_nh of the component nexthop. The manipulation results in null pointer dereference. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-53012. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. No exploit is available. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 7.0.9. Affected is the function nexthop_fib6_nh of the component nexthop. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as 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. This is going to have an impact on availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nexthop: fix IPv6 route referencing IPv4 nexthop syzbot reported a panic [1] [2]. When an IPv6 nexthop is replaced with an IPv4 nexthop, the has_v4 flag of all groups containing this nexthop is not updated. This is because nh_group_v4_update is only called when replacing AF_INET to AF_INET6, but the reverse direction (AF_INET6 to AF_INET) is missed. This allows a stale has_v4=false to bypass fib6_check_nexthop, causing IPv6 routes to be attached to groups that effectively contain only AF_INET members. Subsequent route lookups then call nexthop_fib6_nh() which returns NULL for the AF_INET member, leading to a NULL pointer dereference. Fix by calling nh_group_v4_update whenever the family changes, not just AF_INET to AF_INET6. Reproducer: # AF_INET6 blackhole ip -6 nexthop add id 1 blackhole # group with has_v4=false ip nexthop add id 100 group 1 # replace with AF_INET (no -6), has_v4 stays false ip nexthop replace id 1 blackhole # pass stale has_v4 check ip -6 route add 2001:db8::/64 nhid 100 # panic ping -6 2001:db8::1 [1] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?id=e17283eb2f8dcf3dd9b47fe6f67a95f71faadad0 [2] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?id=8699b6ae54c9f35837d925686208402949e12ef3

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2026-53012 since 06/09/2026. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit. The structure of the vulnerability defines a possible price range of USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 06/24/2026).

Upgrading to version 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.141, 6.12.91, 6.18.33 or 7.0.10 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch ceffe81a0be92afc0cd1340bc8ca46559cce9bb4/9c2d6770a5f4545a307eb66979bef7656a34d621/6275796f22bb382f3e9aa58ed0b4ef7bdad78cb8/aaac3bed034239e1d75732211d9b05f30b0b4f35/ad85961004fd4bd2f31209ac4b07612c6cefb9e7/613c8f4a501421dd258b07ea614205d4e16ec845/b3b7e850e1541f0520c4a12ec884255c30427ff6/29c95185ba32b621fbc3800fb86e7dc3edf5c2be 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.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.10.257
• 5.15.208
• 6.1.174
• 6.6.140
• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1
• 6.12.2
• 6.12.3
• 6.12.4
• 6.12.5
• 6.12.6
• 6.12.7
• 6.12.8
• 6.12.9
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• 6.12.41
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• 6.12.75
• 6.12.76
• 6.12.77
• 6.12.78
• 6.12.79
• 6.12.80
• 6.12.81
• 6.12.82
• 6.12.83
• 6.12.84
• 6.12.85
• 6.12.86
• 6.12.87
• 6.12.88
• 6.12.89
• 6.12.90
• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.18.16
• 6.18.17
• 6.18.18
• 6.18.19
• 6.18.20
• 6.18.21
• 6.18.22
• 6.18.23
• 6.18.24
• 6.18.25
• 6.18.26
• 6.18.27
• 6.18.28
• 6.18.29
• 6.18.30
• 6.18.31
• 6.18.32
• 7.0.0
• 7.0.1
• 7.0.2
• 7.0.3
• 7.0.4
• 7.0.5
• 7.0.6
• 7.0.7
• 7.0.8
• 7.0.9

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

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