CVE-2026-31599 media: vidtv: fix NULL pointer dereference in vidtv_channel_pmt_match_sections
A NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel vidtv driver allows local attackers to cause a system crash via memory allocation failure.
- 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
What is CVE-2026-31599?
CVE-2026-31599 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 Apr 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:
media: vidtv: fix NULL pointer dereference in vidtv_channel_pmt_match_sections
syzbot reported a general protection fault in vidtv_psi_desc_assign [1].
vidtv_psi_pmt_stream_init() can return NULL on memory allocation failure, but vidtv_channel_pmt_match_sections() does not check for this. When tail is NULL, the subsequent call to vidtv_psi_desc_assign(&tail->descriptor, desc) dereferences a NULL pointer offset, causing a general protection fault.
Add a NULL check after vidtv_psi_pmt_stream_init(). On failure, clean up the already-allocated stream chain and return.
[1] Oops: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0xdffffc0000000000: 0000 [#1] SMP KASAN PTI KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000000-0x0000000000000007] RIP: 0010:vidtv_psi_desc_assign+0x24/0x90 drivers/media/test-drivers/vidtv/vidtv_psi.c:629 Call Trace: <TASK> vidtv_channel_pmt_match_sections drivers/media/test-drivers/vidtv/vidtv_channel.c:349 [inline] vidtv_channel_si_init+0x1445/0x1a50 drivers/media/test-drivers/vidtv/vidtv_channel.c:479 vidtv_mux_init+0x526/0xbe0 drivers/media/test-drivers/vidtv/vidtv_mux.c:519 vidtv_start_streaming drivers/media/test-drivers/vidtv/vidtv_bridge.c:194 [inline] vidtv_start_feed+0x33e/0x4d0 drivers/media/test-drivers/vidtv/vidtv_bridge.c:239
Weakness: CWE-476
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-31599?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2026-31599?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-31599 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-31599 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as AZL-84002, BELL-CVE-2026-31599, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-31599, GHSA-x6jh-jrg5-6v49, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-31599, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-31599 and 3 more.