Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-31394 is a medium-severity NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476) vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel. Its CVSS base score is 5.5 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Application or System Exploitation (T1499.004); ranked at the 2th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-18770
Vulnerability Data
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mac80211: fix crash in ieee80211_chan_bw_change for AP_VLAN stations ieee80211_chan_bw_change() iterates all stations and accesses link->reserved.oper via sta->sdata->link[link_id]. For stations on AP_VLAN interfaces (e.g. 4addr WDS clients), sta->sdata points to the…
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VLAN sdata, whose link never participates in chanctx reservations. This leaves link->reserved.oper zero-initialized with chan == NULL, causing a NULL pointer dereference in __ieee80211_sta_cap_rx_bw() when accessing chandef->chan->band during CSA. Resolve the VLAN sdata to its parent AP sdata using get_bss_sdata() before accessing link data. [also change sta->sdata in ARRAY_SIZE even if it doesn't matter]
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
NULL pointer dereference crash in mac80211 kernel driver enables local or wireless-triggered Endpoint DoS via system/application exploitation.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly requires applying the kernel patch that resolves the AP_VLAN sdata pointer before accessing link->reserved.oper, eliminating the NULL dereference.
Mandates developer testing that would exercise AP_VLAN / 4addr WDS station paths during chanctx and CSA handling, catching the missing get_bss_sdata() case.
Requires secure development standards and tools that enforce correct handling of all station sdata types and link reservations, preventing the flawed pointer assumption.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure SDLC practices (static analysis, code review, safe coding standards) directly prevent NULL dereference bugs during development.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing can detect NULL dereference defects before release.
Secure SDLC mandates defensive coding practices that can prevent NULL dereferences.
Application security requirements can specify input validation and pointer-safety rules.
Secure architecture principles encourage defensive design that avoids unsafe pointer use.
Secure coding standards directly require NULL-pointer checks and safe dereference patterns.