VulnerabilityPublished 24 Sep 2026Updated 21 Oct 2026

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

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · fixed in 68059b6e9f7292714286e2b0f5185ed2a43fccc5 : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 12:55 UTC

Severity

Unrated

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.
Patch: Available – fixed in 68059b6e9f7292714286e2b0f5185ed2a43fccc5, 941c9f84c9b6310f7aaa1c8c785dcc634ee33050, 9c78f89cf2fbae18b14c78bf172ca15d832aff15 +1

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

Upgrade Linux kernel to 68059b6e9f7292714286e2b0f5185ed2a43fccc5, 941c9f84c9b6310f7aaa1c8c785dcc634ee33050, 9c78f89cf2fbae18b14c78bf172ca15d832aff15 or 5cbab666721d974bfe033a12045d808936deaefd.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 4a96895f74c9633b51427fd080ab70fa62b65bc4, < 68059b6e9f7292714286e2b0f5185ed2a43fccc5	Fixed in 68059b6e9f7292714286e2b0f5185ed2a43fccc5
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 4a96895f74c9633b51427fd080ab70fa62b65bc4, < 941c9f84c9b6310f7aaa1c8c785dcc634ee33050	Fixed in 941c9f84c9b6310f7aaa1c8c785dcc634ee33050
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 4a96895f74c9633b51427fd080ab70fa62b65bc4, < 9c78f89cf2fbae18b14c78bf172ca15d832aff15	Fixed in 9c78f89cf2fbae18b14c78bf172ca15d832aff15
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 4a96895f74c9633b51427fd080ab70fa62b65bc4, < 5cbab666721d974bfe033a12045d808936deaefd	Fixed in 5cbab666721d974bfe033a12045d808936deaefd
LinuxLinux	Affected =5.3	Fixed in–

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tty: serial: 8250: protect against NULL uart->port.dev in register serial8250_register_8250_port() conditionally copies uart->port.dev from up->port.dev only when up->port.dev is non-NULL: if (up->port.dev) { uart->port.dev = up->port.dev; ... } So if both the existing uart slot and up have a NULL ->dev, uart->port.dev remains NULL. The very next ACPI companion check then dereferences it unconditionally: if (!has_acpi_companion(uart->port.dev)) { has_acpi_companion() reads dev->fwnode without a NULL guard (include/linux/acpi.h), so this NULL-derefs the kernel for the remaining no-dev case rather than just skipping the mctrl_gpio_init() initialisation as intended. smatch flags the inconsistency: drivers/tty/serial/8250/8250_core.c:767 serial8250_register_8250_port() error: 'uart->port.dev' could be null (see line 719) Guard the call with a NULL check so register continues to work for callers that legitimately have no parent device (legacy non-OF/non-ACPI registrations). No functional change for callers that pass a non-NULL ->dev.

References

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