Linux Kernel: NULL Pointer Dereference (CVE-2026-99008)
Published Last modified Sources: BSI, Msrc Update Guide, CVE.org
What is affected, what to do
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: RFCOMM: Fix NULL tty_dev dereference in rfcomm_dev_shutdown syzbot hit a NULL pointer dereference in rfcomm_dev_shutdown() when an RFCOMM tty is closed. rfcomm_dev_add() puts the new device on rfcomm_dev_list first and only then registers the tty device and saves it in dev->tty_dev. If that registration fails, dev->tty_dev is never set at all.
Update Linux Kernel to version 6.6.160, Linux Kernel to version 6.12.113, Linux Kernel to version 6.18.57.
- Affected
- Linux Kernel
lt 3.12..6.6.160 - Linux Kernel
lt 6.7..6.12.113 - Linux Kernel
lt 6.13..6.18.57 - Linux Kernel
lt 6.19..7.2.11
- Linux Kernel
- Fixed in
- Linux Kernel
6.6.160 - Linux Kernel
6.12.113 - Linux Kernel
6.18.57 - Linux Kernel
7.2.11 - Linux Kernel
7.3
- Linux Kernel
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Metrics
4.7
Priority
XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.
Source: Vendor (CNA), CVSS v3
4.7
CVSS v3
Severity Medium on the scale from 0 to 10.
Source: BSI, Msrc Update Guide, CVE.org
0.2 %
EPSS score
Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 6.2
Show all metrics
- Severity
- Medium
Priority (0–325)
The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?
Read in glossary- 53.81 Methodology
Exploit maturity
An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.
Read in glossary- no public PoC known
XIEM Effective CVSS
XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.
Read in glossary- 4.7 Methodology
CVSS v3
CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.
Read in glossary- 4.7
EPSS score
The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.
Read in glossary- 0.2 %
- Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
EPSS percentile
The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.
Read in glossary- 6.2
- Low — this CVE sits in the lower 10% of all CVEs scored today.
KEV status
The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.
Read in glossary- —
- Published
Detection rules
No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.
Classification under NIS2 and CRA
Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.
NIS2
NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.
Read in glossary- Handle the vulnerability in regular vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2.
CRA
The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.
Read in glossary- From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.
Read in glossary- Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: RFCOMM: Fix NULL tty_dev dereference in rfcomm_dev_shutdown syzbot hit a NULL pointer dereference in rfcomm_dev_shutdown() when an RFCOMM tty is closed. rfcomm_dev_add() puts the new device on rfcomm_dev_list first and only then registers the tty device and saves it in dev->tty_dev. If that registration fails, dev->tty_dev is never set at all. The device can be looked up in the meantime, so an open() of /dev/rfcommN gets through rfcomm_tty_install() and attaches to it. When that tty is closed again, rfcomm_dev_shutdown() uses dev->tty_dev without checking it: Oops: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000040-0x0000000000000047] RIP: 0010:rfcomm_dev_shutdown+0x48/0xb0 net/bluetooth/rfcomm/tty.c:131 Call Trace: tty_port_shutdown+0x1bf/0x220 drivers/tty/tty_port.c:372 tty_port_close+0x4e/0x150 drivers/tty/tty_port.c:705 tty_release+0x359/0x1670 drivers/tty/tty_io.c:1718 __fput+0x418/0xa50 fs/file_table.c:512 rfcomm_dev_destruct() already copes with a NULL dev->tty_dev. Add the same check to rfcomm_dev_shutdown(), so the tty device is only moved when it was actually registered.
Source: BSI CSAF, BSI WID Portal, Microsoft Security Update Guide, cvelistv5, NVD (NIST)
Affected products
The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.
| Affected versions | Fixed in | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux |
|
|
Vendors and products
References & sources
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/08e90633377f1b2567ab5ad6810b74c552246a07
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/3fd5164bdb04635caa7942ddb554b0ec699a9433
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/a661f401f83b8462f2d424e0a1a72b7681e92ea2
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/d0aef0b0374678153244f162df507106d728af39
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/d5c372ad03330f02962d4860df4d355ab25487df
Changes to this CVE
Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).
ReceivedLinux
Description added or changed
New references:- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/08e90633377f1b2567ab5ad6810b74c552246a07
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3fd5164bdb04635caa7942ddb554b0ec699a9433
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a661f401f83b8462f2d424e0a1a72b7681e92ea2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d0aef0b0374678153244f162df507106d728af39
and 1 more reference
Show 7 original changes
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Description added —In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: RFCOMM: Fix NULL tty_dev dereference in rfcomm_dev_shutdown syzbot hit a NULL pointer dereference in rfcomm_dev_shutdown() when an RFCOMM tty is closed. rfcomm_dev_add() puts the new device on rfcomm_dev_list first and only then registers the tty device and saves it in dev->tty_dev. If that registration fails, dev->tty_dev is never set at all. The device can be looked up in the meantime, so an open() of /dev/rfcommN gets through rfcomm_tty_install() and attaches to it. When that tty is closed again, rfcomm_dev_shutdown() uses dev->tty_dev without checking it: Oops: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000040-0x0000000000000047] RIP: 0010:rfcomm_dev_shutdown+0x48/0xb0 net/bluetooth/rfcomm/tty.c:131 Call Trace: tty_port_shutdown+0x1bf/0x220 drivers/tty/tty_port.c:372 tty_port_close+0x4e/0x150 drivers/tty/tty_port.c:705 tty_release+0x359/0x1670 drivers/tty/tty_io.c:1718 __fput+0x418/0xa50 fs/file_table.c:512 rfcomm_dev_destruct() already copes with a NULL dev->tty_dev. Add the same check to rfcomm_dev_shutdown(), so the tty device is only moved when it was actually registered.Affected versions (publisher) added —New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/99xxx/CVE-2026-99008.json">CVE-2026-99008</a>Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/08e90633377f1b2567ab5ad6810b74c552246a07Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3fd5164bdb04635caa7942ddb554b0ec699a9433Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a661f401f83b8462f2d424e0a1a72b7681e92ea2Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d0aef0b0374678153244f162df507106d728af39Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d5c372ad03330f02962d4860df4d355ab25487dfSource identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
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<a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2026-99008"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2026-99008.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2026-99008 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>