# CVE-2026-22983: net: do not write to msg_get_inq in callee

> A NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's AF_UNIX stream socket handling can cause a system crash during splice operations.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 23 Jan 2026
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-22983, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-22983, GHSA-3c6v-88wh-34ph, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-22983

## What is CVE-2026-22983?

CVE-2026-22983 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 23 Jan 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net: do not write to msg_get_inq in callee

NULL pointer dereference fix.

msg_get_inq is an input field from caller to callee. Don't set it in
the callee, as the caller may not clear it on struct reuse.

This is a kernel-internal variant of msghdr only, and the only user
does reinitialize the field. So this is not critical for that reason.
But it is more robust to avoid the write, and slightly simpler code.
And it fixes a bug, see below.

Callers set msg_get_inq to request the input queue length to be
returned in msg_inq. This is equivalent to but independent from the
SO_INQ request to return that same info as a cmsg (tp->recvmsg_inq).
To reduce branching in the hot path the second also sets the msg_inq.
That is WAI.

This is a fix to commit 4d1442979e4a ("af_unix: don't post cmsg for
SO_INQ unless explicitly asked for"), which fixed the inverse.

Also avoid NULL pointer dereference in unix_stream_read_generic if
state->msg is NULL and msg->msg_get_inq is written. A NULL state->msg
can happen when splicing as of commit 2b514574f7e8 ("net: af_unix:
implement splice for stream af_unix sockets").

Also collapse two branches using a bitwise or.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-22983?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-22983?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-22983 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-22983 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-22983 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-22983 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 23 Jan 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-22983 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-22983/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-22983/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-22983
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-22983
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-22983

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-22983/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.