CVE-2026-45845 — linux / linux_kernel
NULL Pointer DereferenceIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net/sched: taprio: fix NULL pointer dereference in class dump
When a TAPRIO child qdisc is deleted via RTM_DELQDISC, taprio_graft() is called with new == NULL and stores NULL into q->qdiscs[cl - 1]. Subsequent RTM_GETTCLASS dump operations walk all classes via taprio_walk() and call taprio_dump_class(), which calls taprio_leaf() returning the NULL pointer, then dereferences it to read child->handle, causing a kernel NULL pointer dereference.
The bug is reachable with namespace-scoped CAP_NET_ADMIN on any kernel with CONFIG_NET_SCH_TAPRIO enabled. On systems with unprivileged user namespaces enabled, an unprivileged local user can trigger a kernel panic by creating a taprio qdisc inside a new network namespace, grafting an explicit child qdisc, deleting it, and requesting a class dump. The RTM_GETTCLASS dump itself requires no capability.
Oops: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0xdffffc0000000007: 0000 [#1] SMP KASAN NOPTI KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000038-0x000000000000003f] RIP: 0010:taprio_dump_class (net/sched/sch_taprio.c:2478) Call Trace: <TASK> tc_fill_tclass (net/sched/sch_api.c:1966) qdisc_class_dump (net/sched/sch_api.c:2326) taprio_walk (net/sched/sch_taprio.c:2514) tc_dump_tclass_qdisc (net/sched/sch_api.c:2352) tc_dump_tclass_root (net/sched/sch_api.c:2370) tc_dump_tclass (net/sched/sch_api.c:2431) rtnl_dumpit (net/core/rtnetlink.c:6864) netlink_dump (net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2325) rtnetlink_rcv_msg (net/core/rtnetlink.c:6959) netlink_rcv_skb (net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2550) </TASK>
Fix this by substituting &noop_qdisc when new is NULL in taprio_graft(), a common pattern used by other qdiscs (e.g., multiq_graft()) to ensure the q->qdiscs[] slots are never NULL. This makes control-plane dump paths safe without requiring individual NULL checks.
Since the data-plane paths (taprio_enqueue and taprio_dequeue_from_txq) previously had explicit NULL guards that would drop/skip the packet cleanly, update those checks to test for &noop_qdisc instead. Without this, packets would reach taprio_enqueue_one() which increments the root qdisc's qlen and backlog before calling the child's enqueue; noop_qdisc drops the packet but those counters are never rolled back, permanently inflating the root qdisc's statistics.
After this change *old can be a valid qdisc, NULL, or &noop_qdisc. Only call qdisc_put(*old) in the first case to avoid decreasing noop_qdisc's refcount, which was never increased.
| Software | From | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| linux / linux_kernel | 6.6 | 6.6.141 |
| linux / linux_kernel | 6.7 | 6.12.91 |
| linux / linux_kernel | 6.13 | 6.18.33 |
| linux / linux_kernel | 6.19 | 7.0.10 |
| linux / linux_kernel | 7.1-rc1 | 7.1-rc1.x |
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3d07ca5c0fae311226f737963984bd94bb159a87
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/48b26d48e76221dc90b02bf5428bab53643461ca
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8f1ff8866cb9f655e5faea6994eb902960be8e04
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d02e2fbf60de46678e2ea698a6a904fd21e1cc31
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ec2501e361b08b50bcb1e7b3253fc861abbda28d
Deep Security Visibility Without the Complexity
SynScan provides clear, real-time security insights so you can monitor your attack surface, spot risks early, and act fast—without extra complexity.
- No setup fees
- 5-min deployment
- Cancel anytime
Frequently Asked Questions
A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.
CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.
A vulnerability is the underlying weakness. An exploit is the method or code used to take advantage of it. A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or has no publicly available fix when attackers begin using it. In practice, risk increases sharply when exploitation becomes reliable or widespread.
Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.
Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.
SynScan combines attack surface monitoring and continuous security auditing to keep your inventory current, flag high-impact vulnerabilities early, and help you turn raw findings into a practical remediation plan.