VulnerabilityPublished 28 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-99160: Linux kernel · ring-buffer: Do not show buffer_meta for CPUs without a buffer

Source GCVE Database

Authoritative record:CVE-2026-99160

Not known to be exploited · fixed in ae670c1a24fb5ffb167f26358cf47a5f0abbd670 : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 28 Oct 2026, 13:46 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated Medium by Threat Radar's AI analysis · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

Patch: Available – fixed in ae670c1a24fb5ffb167f26358cf47a5f0abbd670, 8512d0312cc0ea83ca4511b164c29a138bbb0c21, 3f23cae09a4677a3f7c163a68388512cb231ff22

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 28 Oct 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.

ghsa-pw95-h85m-gvhp

What to do

Upgrade Linux kernel to ae670c1a24fb5ffb167f26358cf47a5f0abbd670, 8512d0312cc0ea83ca4511b164c29a138bbb0c21 or 3f23cae09a4677a3f7c163a68388512cb231ff22.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 950032ffcee7a43c960951940059afc5a2bdbcbc, < ae670c1a24fb5ffb167f26358cf47a5f0abbd670	Fixed in ae670c1a24fb5ffb167f26358cf47a5f0abbd670
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 950032ffcee7a43c960951940059afc5a2bdbcbc, < 8512d0312cc0ea83ca4511b164c29a138bbb0c21	Fixed in 8512d0312cc0ea83ca4511b164c29a138bbb0c21
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 950032ffcee7a43c960951940059afc5a2bdbcbc, < 3f23cae09a4677a3f7c163a68388512cb231ff22	Fixed in 3f23cae09a4677a3f7c163a68388512cb231ff22
LinuxLinux	Affected =6.12	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

A fix has been implemented in the Linux kernel to prevent this NULL pointer dereference by failing the open operation with -ENODEV for CPUs without buffers. Users should apply the official kernel update containing this fix once available. No other mitigation actions are indicated.

Description

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ring-buffer subsystem causes a NULL pointer dereference when accessing buffer_meta files for CPUs that never came online. This occurs because buffer_meta files are created for all possible CPUs, but the actual buffer is only allocated when the CPU is online. Attempting to read the file for an offline CPU leads to a NULL dereference. The issue is fixed by failing the open operation with an error code when the CPU has no buffer.

References

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