CVE-2026-72097 dm-verity: fix a possible NULL pointer dereference

Not scored Published Updated

A NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel dm-verity module can cause a system crash when a device lacks a table.

Exploited in the wild
Not known
Login needed
Not needed
Attackable
Local or same network only
Victim action needed
Not needed
Fix
Available

What is CVE-2026-72097?

CVE-2026-72097 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 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:

dm-verity: fix a possible NULL pointer dereference

Fix a possible NULL pointer dereference dm_verity_loadpin_is_bdev_trusted if the device has no table.

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72097?

How do I fix CVE-2026-72097?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Is CVE-2026-72097 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72097 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Sources

Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-72097, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72097, GHSA-c233-jcv3-h462, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72097.

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