NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel SPI-NAND probe path
Key facts
- Attack vector
- —
- Privileges required
- —
- User interaction
- —
- Attack complexity
- —
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- —
- Fix status
- Fixed
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
The Linux kernel from 5.18 is affected. The SPI-NAND code dereferences an ECC engine pointer that stays NULL when a device sets nand-no-ecc-engine in the device tree, so probing such a device crashes the kernel with an oops.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
Description from the CNA
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mtd: spinand: fix NULL pointer dereference with no ECC engine When "nand-no-ecc-engine" is set in DT, nanddev_get_ecc_engine() takes the NAND_ECC_ENGINE_TYPE_NONE path and returns success while leaving nand->ecc.engine NULL. The SPI-NAND code nevertheless dereferences it unconditionally to test for a pipelined engine, so probing such a device oopses immediately. Rather than open-coding the test three times, add a nand_ecc_is_pipelined() helper to the NAND core that folds the NULL check into the integration comparison, and use it everywhere. Future callers then cannot reintroduce the problem.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
Fixed versions are 6.1.191, 6.6.160, 6.12.113, 6.18.56, 7.2.10 and 7.3 of the Linux kernel.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.191, 6.6.160, 6.12.113, 6.18.56, 7.2.10, 7.3
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 7 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5
Timeline
- 2026-10-23 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-98931
- 2026-10-23 Alias added: GHSA-h8g8-r2jh-pj86
- 2026-10-30 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-30 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-10-30 Fix available: Linux/[email protected], Linux/Linux@ab781c7840bb8a210156e25eb0c027d6097fb74d · CNA
- 2026-10-30 1 new reference · CNA
- 2026-11-06 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Other 6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ab781c7840bb8a210156e25eb0c027d6097fb74d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/77c449c9c946fc420008dc55cd30f53749c915e4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3c765fd5212c1bbc71568b1518a7ec963a7040b4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/80e8b0ea73ba295e92dfb6cf1c41df9da64234c6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fc2f651f520394893b14b75281a01e502bfa73bb
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b890e6163761ddb580cc74f43e15f8bbde15647e
More Linux vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2021-02452 Incorrect authorization in Ubuntu linux kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
Sources
- CVE-2026-98931 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-98931 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-h8g8-r2jh-pj86 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-98931 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences