CVE-2026-98695
Description
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's USB serial subsystem. A local user could cause a Denial of Service (DoS) due to a race condition between input/output control (ioctl) operations and device disconnection. If a USB serial device is disconnected during an active operation, the driver may attempt to access released resources, triggering a null-pointer dereference and a system crash.
Statement
This vulnerability is rated as having a Moderate impact because it requires local access and precise race condition timing during the disconnection or hangup of a USB serial peripheral, resulting only in a system crash without compromising confidentiality or integrity. In typical Red Hat Enterprise Linux server deployments, physical USB serial hardware is rarely utilized, substantially constraining the attack surface. Furthermore, an attacker must have local access to the corresponding tty device node to invoke ioctl calls while the device is being detached.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 4.7 | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | High | N/A | N/A |
| Privileges Required | Low | N/A | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | N/A |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
NULL pointer dereferences usually result in the failure of the process unless exception handling (on some platforms) is available and implemented. Even when exception handling is being used, it can still be very difficult to return the software to a safe state of operation.
Integrity,Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Read Memory; Modify Memory
In rare circumstances, when NULL is equivalent to the 0x0 memory address and privileged code can access it, then writing or reading memory is possible, which may lead to code execution.
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