CVE-2026-22983

MEDIUMCVSS 5.5/10EPSS 0.10%

Last modified

CVE-2026-22983 is a medium-severity vulnerability rated 5.5/10 on the CVSS scale. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: do not write to msg_get_inq in callee NULL pointer dereference fix. msg_get_inq is an input field from caller to callee. Don't set it in the callee, as the caller may not clear it on struct reuse. This is a kernel-internal variant of msghdr only, and the only user does reinitialize the field. EPSS estimates a 0.10% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: do not write to msg_get_inq in callee NULL pointer dereference fix. msg_get_inq is an input field from caller to callee. Don't set it in the callee, as the caller may not clear it on struct reuse. This is a kernel-internal variant of msghdr only, and the only user does reinitialize the field. So this is not critical for that reason. But it is more robust to avoid the write, and slightly simpler code. And it fixes a bug, see below. Callers set msg_get_inq to request the input queue length to be returned in msg_inq. This is equivalent to but independent from the SO_INQ request to return that same info as a cmsg (tp->recvmsg_inq). To reduce branching in the hot path the second also sets the msg_inq. That is WAI. This is a fix to commit 4d1442979e4a ("af_unix: don't post cmsg for SO_INQ unless explicitly asked for"), which fixed the inverse. Also avoid NULL pointer dereference in unix_stream_read_generic if state->msg is NULL and msg->msg_get_inq is written. A NULL state->msg can happen when splicing as of commit 2b514574f7e8 ("net: af_unix: implement splice for stream af_unix sockets"). Also collapse two branches using a bitwise or.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1
5.5/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS Probability
0.10%

1.2th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

VendorProductVersionsUpdate
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.18.4, < 6.18.6
LinuxLinux Kernel6.19Rc4

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Analyzed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-22983?
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: do not write to msg_get_inq in callee NULL pointer dereference fix. msg_get_inq is an input field from caller to callee. Don't set it in the callee, as the caller may not clear it on struct reuse. This is a kernel-internal variant of msghdr only, and the only user does reinitialize the field. So this is not critical for that reason. But it is more robust to avoid the write, and slightly simpler code. And it fixes a bug, see below. Callers set msg_get_inq to request the input queue length to be returned in msg_inq. This is equivalent to but independent from the SO_INQ request to return that same info as a cmsg (tp->recvmsg_inq). To reduce branching in the hot path the second also sets the msg_inq. That is WAI. This is a fix to commit 4d1442979e4a ("af_unix: don't post cmsg for SO_INQ unless explicitly asked for"), which fixed the inverse. Also avoid NULL pointer dereference in unix_stream_read_generic if state->msg is NULL and msg->msg_get_inq is written. A NULL state->msg can happen when splicing as of commit 2b514574f7e8 ("net: af_unix: implement splice for stream af_unix sockets"). Also collapse two branches using a bitwise or.
How severe is CVE-2026-22983?
CVE-2026-22983 has a CVSS score of 5.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.10% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-22983?
Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

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Source: NVD / NIST