Linux Kernel up to 6.12.112/6.18.55/7.2.9/7.3-rc5 TTY Serial null pointer dereference

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
5.3	$0-$5k	0.91

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability labeled as critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.112/6.18.55/7.2.9/7.3-rc5. This issue affects some unknown processing of the component TTY Serial. Executing a manipulation can lead to null pointer dereference. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-98695. The attack is restricted to local execution. No exploit exists. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.112/6.18.55/7.2.9/7.3-rc5 and classified as critical. This vulnerability affects an unknown part of the component TTY Serial. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is 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. As an impact it is known to affect availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: USB: serial: fix ioctl hangup race The tty ioctls can race with hangup and end up calling into a tty driver for a device that is already gone or powered down. Serialise the callbacks using the tty port mutex and add the missing checks to make sure the port has not been hung up before accessing port driver data or hardware. This specifically avoids dereferencing a NULL-pointer if a device is disconnected during lengthy break signalling. Note that TIOCGICOUNT and TIOCMIWAIT do not access port driver data or hardware and are therefore not affected by the race.

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-98695 since 09/25/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. Local access is required to approach this attack. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not available.

Upgrading to version 6.12.113, 6.18.56, 7.2.10 or 7.3-rc6 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch ae0da9a5c1ca95c20cc5feffd511ce6eae75924e/4597ddd6168ae2a4123404e5f0871f1070dc7773/7912a95d1345c77d8d63b530b00c118700b78abd/ae0e61d95677efa778379853e495d748e6efbf95 is able to eliminate this problem. 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

• 6.12.112
• 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
• 6.18.33
• 6.18.34
• 6.18.35
• 6.18.36
• 6.18.37
• 6.18.38
• 6.18.39
• 6.18.40
• 6.18.41
• 6.18.42
• 6.18.43
• 6.18.44
• 6.18.45
• 6.18.46
• 6.18.47
• 6.18.48
• 6.18.49
• 6.18.50
• 6.18.51
• 6.18.52
• 6.18.53
• 6.18.54
• 6.18.55
• 7.2.0
• 7.2.1
• 7.2.2
• 7.2.3
• 7.2.4
• 7.2.5
• 7.2.6
• 7.2.7
• 7.2.8
• 7.2.9
• 7.3-rc1
• 7.3-rc2
• 7.3-rc3
• 7.3-rc4
• 7.3-rc5

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.5
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 5.3

VulDB Base Score: 5.5
VulDB Temp Score: 5.3
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Null pointer dereference
CWE: CWE-476 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: No

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

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Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.12.113/6.18.56/7.2.10/7.3-rc6
Patch: ae0da9a5c1ca95c20cc5feffd511ce6eae75924e/4597ddd6168ae2a4123404e5f0871f1070dc7773/7912a95d1345c77d8d63b530b00c118700b78abd/ae0e61d95677efa778379853e495d748e6efbf95

Timelineinfo

09/25/2026 CVE reserved
10/18/2026 +23 days Advisory disclosed
10/18/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
10/18/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-98695 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-98695
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-421942

Entryinfo

Created: 10/18/2026 19:25
Changes: 10/18/2026 19:25 (58)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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