# CVE-2026-64165: ARM: integrator: Fix early initialization

> A null pointer dereference in the ARM Integrator early initialization code causes a kernel crash, leading to denial of service.

- **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:** 19 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Jul 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-64165, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-64165, GHSA-w8wx-87mq-w4r7, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-64165

## What is CVE-2026-64165?

CVE-2026-64165 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jul 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:

ARM: integrator: Fix early initialization

Starting with commit bdb249fce9ad4 ("ARM: integrator: read counter using
syscon/regmap"), intcp_init_early calls syscon_regmap_lookup_by_compatible
which in turn calls of_syscon_register. This function allocates memory.
Since the memory management code has not been initialized at that time,
the call always fails. It either returns -ENOMEM or crashes as follows.

Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000c when read
[0000000c] *pgd=00000000
Internal error: Oops: 5 [#1] ARM
Modules linked in:
CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper Not tainted 6.15.0-rc5-00026-g5fcc9bf84ee5 #1 PREEMPT
Hardware name: ARM Integrator/CP (Device Tree)
PC is at __kmalloc_cache_noprof+0xec/0x39c
LR is at __kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x34/0x39c
...
Call trace:
 __kmalloc_cache_noprof from of_syscon_register+0x7c/0x310
 of_syscon_register from device_node_get_regmap+0xa4/0xb0
 device_node_get_regmap from intcp_init_early+0xc/0x40
 intcp_init_early from start_kernel+0x60/0x688
 start_kernel from 0x0

The crash is seen due to a dereferenced pointer which is not supposed to be
NULL but is NULL if the memory management subsystem has not been
initialized. The crash is not seen with all versions of gcc. Some versions
such as gcc 9.x apparently do not dereference the pointer, presumably if
tracing is disabled. The problem has been reproduced with gcc 10.x, 11.x,
and 13.x. Either case, if the crash is not seen, the call to
syscon_regmap_lookup_by_compatible returns -ENOMEM, and
sched_clock_register is never called.

Fix the problem by moving the early initialization code into the standard
machine initialization code.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-64165?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-64165?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-64165 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-64165 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-2026-64165 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-64165 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jul 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-2026-64165 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-2026-64165/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-64165/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-64165
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-64165
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-64165

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-64165/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.