Linux Kernel up to 6.6.159/6.12.112/6.18.56/7.2.10 ipv4 fib_nexthop_nlmsg_size 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.
9.5	$0-$5k	0.40-

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.159/6.12.112/6.18.56/7.2.10 and classified as very critical. Impacted is the function fib_nexthop_nlmsg_size of the component ipv4. Such manipulation leads to null pointer dereference. This vulnerability is referenced as CVE-2026-99072. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. No exploit is available. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.159/6.12.112/6.18.56/7.2.10. It has been rated as very critical. Affected by this issue is the function fib_nexthop_nlmsg_size of the component ipv4. 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 confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv4: stop route notification sizing when nexthop group shrinks Commit 680aea08e78c ("net: ipv4: Emit notification when fib hardware flags are changed") added an RCU-only fib_nlmsg_size() call for asynchronous hardware flag notifications. fib_nlmsg_size() checks fib_info_num_path() before each iteration, then fib_info_nhc() independently reloads nh->nh_grp. If RTM_NEWNEXTHOP replaces a group with fewer paths between those loads, fib_info_nhc() returns NULL and fib_nexthop_nlmsg_size() dereferences it. Stop sizing when the indexed path is absent. Nexthop groups are dense, so the current snapshot has no later path.

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2026-99072 since 09/25/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be launched 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 10/23/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.6.160, 6.12.113, 6.18.57 or 7.2.11 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 72d9d17092bb37b0717f12042a0817d01a1f9e78/ad1c9f1b98c92609e9bb2ae8f05916defc3b0a54/c1f48d1c2d5e9efd904dbbc2f2b3d41543e55c49/ad2b3a68b8a7d5d27de88e05674e4adb1ce46d88/d3daa33c7af92e38f2274bbd2576f58bfbaf89e6 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

• 6.6.159
• 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
• 6.18.56
• 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
• 7.2.10

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: 9.9
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 9.5

VulDB Base Score: 9.9
VulDB Temp Score: 9.5
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: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

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 6.6.160/6.12.113/6.18.57/7.2.11
Patch: 72d9d17092bb37b0717f12042a0817d01a1f9e78/ad1c9f1b98c92609e9bb2ae8f05916defc3b0a54/c1f48d1c2d5e9efd904dbbc2f2b3d41543e55c49/ad2b3a68b8a7d5d27de88e05674e4adb1ce46d88/d3daa33c7af92e38f2274bbd2576f58bfbaf89e6

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-2026-99072 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-99072
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-425870

Entryinfo

Created: 10/23/2026 15:45
Changes: 10/23/2026 15:45 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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Discussion

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