Linux Kernel up to 6.18.52 irqchip-gic-v4 __irq_domain_instantiate 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.
4.0	$0-$5k	2.74+

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.52. Affected by this issue is the function __irq_domain_instantiate of the component irqchip-gic-v4. The manipulation leads to null pointer dereference. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-98877. Local access is required to approach this attack. No exploit exists. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.52. This issue affects the function __irq_domain_instantiate of the component irqchip-gic-v4. 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: irqchip/gic-v4: Don't advertise VLPIs if no ITS is probed When accidentally setting “kvm-arm.vgic_v4_enable=1” on a system that has no MSI controller device tree node and GICv4, it results a panic as “gic_domain” is NULL and the kernel attempts to access it. Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000028 Mem abort info: ESR = 0x0000000096000006 CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 295 Comm: lkvm-static Not tainted 7.1.0-rc4-ge3f15ad3970e #5 PREEMPT Hardware name: linux,dummy-virt (DT) pstate: 81402005 (Nzcv daif +PAN -UAO -TCO +DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) pc : __irq_domain_instantiate+0x1d4/0x578 lr : __irq_domain_instantiate+0x1cc/0x578 Set vLPI support to false at init time if the host has no ITS, so it propagates properly to kvm_vgic_global_state.has_gicv4.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-98877 since 09/25/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. An attack has to be approached locally. Additional levels of successful authentication are required for exploitation. It demands that the victim is doing some kind of user interaction. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available.

Upgrading to version 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.111 or 6.18.53 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 3e4cae9f1472ba3c9fe87edee24074618b51f537/a2508b8855acc96abe69be73b41b672f1ef12516/e79934064be85fc9a3a6434da857307d8b78e33d/4761493dd663443f7353c184e6fa16e1cb3ac5a1/ab233119a19716b8f33e73ea7e092e0eb353cfbf/c8a911b3b07baa0aeb3dbc4e16a4670bd21bed40/e61654fbc3bc5d07ec9fafe29f33e19b2b5d0fd5 is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at EUVD (EUVD-2026-108723). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.10.270
• 5.15.221
• 6.1.188
• 6.6.157
• 6.12.110
• 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

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: 4.2
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 4.0

VulDB Base Score: 4.2
VulDB Temp Score: 4.0
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

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

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

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: Partially

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

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 5.10.271/5.15.222/6.1.189/6.6.158/6.12.111/6.18.53
Patch: 3e4cae9f1472ba3c9fe87edee24074618b51f537/a2508b8855acc96abe69be73b41b672f1ef12516/e79934064be85fc9a3a6434da857307d8b78e33d/4761493dd663443f7353c184e6fa16e1cb3ac5a1/ab233119a19716b8f33e73ea7e092e0eb353cfbf/c8a911b3b07baa0aeb3dbc4e16a4670bd21bed40/e61654fbc3bc5d07ec9fafe29f33e19b2b5d0fd5

Timelineinfo

09/25/2026 CVE reserved
10/23/2026 +28 days Advisory disclosed
10/23/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
10/23/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-98877 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-98877
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-425657
EUVD: 🔒

Entryinfo

Created: 10/23/2026 14:12
Updated: 10/23/2026 14:44
Changes: 10/23/2026 14:12 (59), 10/23/2026 14:44 (1)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Discussion

Want to stay up to date on a daily basis?

Enable the mail alert feature now!