VulnerabilityPublished 24 Sep 2026Updated 5 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-97480: Linux kernel · tty: serial: 8250: protect against NULL uart->port.dev in register

Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database

Authoritative record:CVE-2026-97480

Not known to be exploited.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:47 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 6% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 24 Sep 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 6.17.0-5.5 – 7.0.0-38.38 23 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-aws`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 6.17.0-1002.2 – 7.0.0-1014.14 15 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azure`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 6.17.0-1003.3 – 7.0.0-1017.17 15 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azure-fde`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 7.0.0-1003.3 – 7.0.0-1016.16 9 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gcp`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 6.17.0-1002.2 – 7.0.0-1014.14 13 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gke`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gke?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 7.0.0-1002.3 – 7.0.0-1008.9 6 affected builds	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

A fix is available that adds a NULL check before dereferencing uart->port.dev in serial8250_register_8250_port(). Users should apply the official kernel patches that address this issue. Since this is a kernel vulnerability, updating to a patched kernel version is the recommended remediation.

Description

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's 8250 serial driver could cause a NULL pointer dereference when uart->port.dev is NULL. This occurs because the code conditionally copies uart->port.dev only if up->port.dev is non-NULL, but later dereferences uart->port.dev without a NULL check, leading to a kernel NULL dereference. The issue affects legacy non-OF/non-ACPI registrations where no parent device is present.

Impact

This vulnerability can cause a kernel NULL pointer dereference, leading to a denial of service (system crash) when the affected code path is executed with a NULL uart->port.dev. There is no indication of privilege escalation or code execution. The impact is limited to kernel stability and availability.

Summary

The Linux kernel 8250 serial driver had a flaw in the function serial8250_register_8250_port() where uart->port.dev could remain NULL if both the existing uart slot and the new port (up) had a NULL ->dev pointer. Subsequently, the code called has_acpi_companion(uart->port.dev) without checking for NULL, causing a kernel NULL pointer dereference. The fix involves adding a NULL check before this call to ensure safe operation for callers without a parent device, preserving functionality for those with non-NULL ->dev pointers.

GCVE source: db.gcve.eu
OSV ID: UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97480
Osv Schema Version: 1.7.0
Ecosystems: Ubuntu:Pro:14.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS, Ubuntu:16.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS:16.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS, Ubuntu:18.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:18.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS:18.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS, Ubuntu:20.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:20.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS:20.04:LTS, Ubuntu:22.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Nvidia-BlueField:22.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-preview:22.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:22.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:Realtime:22.04:LTS, Ubuntu:24.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Nvidia-BlueField:24.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:24.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:Realtime:24.04:LTS, Ubuntu:26.04:LTS

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 24 Oct 2026, 15:52 UTC

Technical details

References

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