CVE-2026-64451tracing: Fix NULL pointer dereference in func_set_flag()
- 5.5MediumCVSS base score
- 0.14%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 96% of all CVEs
- NoKnown exploitednot in CISA's KEV catalog
- NonePublic exploitsnone known yet
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tracing: Fix NULL pointer dereference in func_set_flag() func_set_flag() dereferences tr->current_trace_flags before verifying that the current tracer is actually the function tracer. When the active tracer has been switched away from "function" (e.g., to "wakeup_rt"), tr->current_trace_flags can be NULL, leading to a NULL pointer dereference and kernel crash. The call chain that triggers this is: trace_options_write() -> __set_tracer_option() -> trace->set_flag() /* func_set_flag */ In func_set_flag(), the first operation is: if (!!set == !!(tr->current_trace_flags->val & bit)) This dereferences tr->current_trace_flags unconditionally. The safety check that guards against a non-function tracer: if (tr->current_trace != &function_trace) return 0; is placed *after* the dereference, which is too late. This was observed with the following crash dump: BUG: unable to handle page fault at 0000000000000000 RIP: func_set_flag+0xd Call Trace: __set_tracer_option+0x27 trace_options_write+0x75 vfs_write+0x12a ksys_write+0x66 do_syscall_64+0x5b RIP: ffffffff914c973d RSP: ff67ec88b01dfdf0 RFLAGS: 00010202 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ff3a826e80354580 RCX: 0000000000000001 RDX: 0000000000000001 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: ffffffff93918080 The disassembly confirms the fault: func_set_flag+0: mov 0x1f08(%rdi), %rax ; RAX = tr->current_trace_flags = NULL func_set_flag+13: mov (%rax), %eax ; page fault: dereference NULL At the time of the crash: tr->current_trace_flags = 0x0 (NULL) tr->current_trace = wakeup_rt_tracer (not function_trace) The scenario is that a process opens a function tracer option file (such as "func_stack_trace"), then the current tracer is switched to another tracer (e.g., "wakeup_rt"), which sets current_trace_flags to NULL. When the process subsequently writes to the option file, func_set_flag() is invoked and crashes on the NULL dereference. Fix this by moving the current_trace check before the current_trace_flags dereference, so that func_set_flag() returns early when the function tracer is not active.
Timeline
ID reserved
By Linux
- 6 days later
· 6 days later
Published
- 23 days later
· 23 days later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVDNVD · Analyzed | 3.1 | Medium5.5 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 0.14% · top 96% of all CVEs (13 Nov 2026)
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Medium 5.5.
Affected products
References
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2026-48795 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2026-64451)Record last updated .