Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-31457 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 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) 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-2026-24796
Vulnerability Data
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/damon/sysfs: check contexts->nr in repeat_call_fn damon_sysfs_repeat_call_fn() calls damon_sysfs_upd_tuned_intervals(), damon_sysfs_upd_schemes_stats(), and damon_sysfs_upd_schemes_effective_quotas() without checking contexts->nr. If nr_contexts is set to 0 via sysfs while DAMON is running, these functions dereference contexts_arr[0]…
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and cause a NULL pointer dereference. Add the missing check. For example, the issue can be reproduced using DAMON sysfs interface and DAMON user-space tool (damo) [1] like below. $ sudo damo start --refresh_interval 1s $ echo 0 | sudo tee \ /sys/kernel/mm/damon/admin/kdamonds/0/contexts/nr_contexts
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
NULL pointer dereference in DAMON sysfs allows local user to trigger kernel panic/DoS by setting nr_contexts=0.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Validates sysfs inputs such as nr_contexts to reject values that would cause out-of-bounds or NULL dereference in damon_sysfs_repeat_call_fn.
Requires prompt application of the kernel patch that adds the missing contexts->nr check before array access.
Restricts write access to /sys/kernel/mm/damon/.../nr_contexts to only the minimal set of privileged processes.
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.