In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tracing: Fix NULL pointer dereference in func_set_flag() func_set_flag() dereferences tr->current_trace_flags before verifying that the current tracer is actually the function tracer. When the active tracer has been switched away from "function" (e.g., to "wakeup_rt"), tr->current_trace_flags can be NULL, leading to a NULL pointer dereference and kernel crash. The call chain that triggers this is: trace_options_write() -> __set_tracer_option() -> trace->set_flag() /* func_set_flag */ In func_set_flag(), the first operation is: if (!!set == !!(tr->current_trace_flags->val & bit)) This dereferences tr->current_trace_flags unconditionally. The safety check that guards against a non-function tracer: if (tr->current_trace != &function_trace) return 0; is placed *after* the dereference, which is too late. This was observed with the following crash dump: BUG: unable to handle page fault at 0000000000000000 RIP: func_set_flag+0xd Call Trace: __set_tracer_option+0x27 trace_options_write+0x75 vfs_write+0x12a ksys_write+0x66 do_syscall_64+0x5b RIP: ffffffff914c973d RSP: ff67ec88b01dfdf0 RFLAGS: 00010202 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ff3a826e80354580 RCX: 0000000000000001 RDX: 0000000000000001 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: ffffffff93918080 The disassembly confirms the fault: func_set_flag+0: mov 0x1f08(%rdi), %rax ; RAX = tr->current_trace_flags = NULL func_set_flag+13: mov (%rax), %eax ; page fault: dereference NULL At the time of the crash: tr->current_trace_flags = 0x0 (NULL) tr->current_trace = wakeup_rt_tracer (not function_trace) The scenario is that a process opens a function tracer option file (such as "func_stack_trace"), then the current tracer is switched to another tracer (e.g., "wakeup_rt"), which sets current_trace_flags to NULL. When the process subsequently writes to the option file, func_set_flag() is invoked and crashes on the NULL dereference. Fix this by moving the current_trace check before the current_trace_flags dereference, so that func_set_flag() returns early when the function tracer is not active.

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's tracing subsystem. A local user, by manipulating function tracer options, can trigger a NULL pointer dereference in the func_set_flag() function. This vulnerability occurs when the active tracer is switched away from the function tracer while a process has an option file for it open, leading to a kernel crash and a denial of service.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Not affected kernel Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Not affected kernel Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Not affected kernel Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Not affected kernel-rt Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Not affected kernel Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Not affected kernel-rt Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Not affected kernel Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Not affected kernel-rt https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-64451 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-64451 https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2026072541-CVE-2026-64451-1842@gregkh/T