Linux Kernel up to 7.2.12 aeroflex greth_of_probe netdev_ops null pointer dereference

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2.12 and classified as critical. Impacted is the function greth_of_probe of the component aeroflex. This manipulation of the argument netdev_ops causes null pointer dereference. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-99194. The attack is possible to be carried out remotely. No exploit exists. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2.12 and classified as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function greth_of_probe of the component aeroflex. The manipulation of the argument netdev_ops 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. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ethernet: aeroflex: move setting of netops to fix crash greth_of_probe() calls greth_mdio_init(), which connects the PHY, before dev->netdev_ops is assigned. phy_attach_direct() -> phy_link_topo_add_phy() reads dev->netdev_ops through netdev_need_ops_lock() since the commit in question, so probing crashes with a NULL pointer dereference when CONFIG_NET_SHAPER is enabled. Assign netdev_ops before the PHY attach, as was done for emac in commit 7c9f391ec89c ("net: emac: move setting of netops to fix crash").

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-99194 since 09/25/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 10/28/2026).

Upgrading to version 7.2.13 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 5293e376e9d6cdb945db11f71821bb57d415631d is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 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
• 7.2.11
• 7.2.12

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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