# CVE-2026-22985: idpf: Fix RSS LUT NULL pointer crash on early ethtool operations

> A local attacker can crash the Linux kernel by disabling rxhash on an Intel idpf network interface before it is brought up.

- **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-2026-22985, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-22985, GHSA-gj4p-f535-7c3j, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-22985, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-22985, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-22985

## What is CVE-2026-22985?

CVE-2026-22985 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:

idpf: Fix RSS LUT NULL pointer crash on early ethtool operations

The RSS LUT is not initialized until the interface comes up, causing
the following NULL pointer crash when ethtool operations like rxhash on/off
are performed before the interface is brought up for the first time.

Move RSS LUT initialization from ndo_open to vport creation to ensure LUT
is always available. This enables RSS configuration via ethtool before
bringing the interface up. Simplify LUT management by maintaining all
changes in the driver's soft copy and programming zeros to the indirection
table when rxhash is disabled. Defer HW programming until the interface
comes up if it is down during rxhash and LUT configuration changes.

Steps to reproduce:
** Load idpf driver; interfaces will be created
	modprobe idpf
** Before bringing the interfaces up, turn rxhash off
	ethtool -K eth2 rxhash off

[89408.371875] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000
[89408.371908] #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode
[89408.371924] #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page
[89408.371940] PGD 0 P4D 0
[89408.371953] Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI
<snip>
[89408.372052] RIP: 0010:memcpy_orig+0x16/0x130
[89408.372310] Call Trace:
[89408.372317]  <TASK>
[89408.372326]  ? idpf_set_features+0xfc/0x180 [idpf]
[89408.372363]  __netdev_update_features+0x295/0xde0
[89408.372384]  ethnl_set_features+0x15e/0x460
[89408.372406]  genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0x11f/0x180
[89408.372429]  genl_rcv_msg+0x1ad/0x2b0
[89408.372446]  ? __pfx_ethnl_set_features+0x10/0x10
[89408.372465]  ? __pfx_genl_rcv_msg+0x10/0x10
[89408.372482]  netlink_rcv_skb+0x58/0x100
[89408.372502]  genl_rcv+0x2c/0x50
[89408.372516]  netlink_unicast+0x289/0x3e0
[89408.372533]  netlink_sendmsg+0x215/0x440
[89408.372551]  __sys_sendto+0x234/0x240
[89408.372571]  __x64_sys_sendto+0x28/0x30
[89408.372585]  x64_sys_call+0x1909/0x1da0
[89408.372604]  do_syscall_64+0x7a/0xfa0
[89408.373140]  ? clear_bhb_loop+0x60/0xb0
[89408.373647]  entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e
[89408.378887]  </TASK>
<snip>

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-22985?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-22985?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-22985 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-22985 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-2026-22985 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-22985 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-2026-22985 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-2026-22985/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-22985/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-22985
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-22985
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-22985

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-22985/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.