# CVE-2026-74706: bnge: Fix NULL pointer dereference in aux device release

> A NULL pointer dereference in the bnge driver's error handling path can cause a kernel crash, leading to denial of service.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 22 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 22 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74706, GHSA-fq8p-jp7x-rvrf, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74706

## What is CVE-2026-74706?

CVE-2026-74706 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 22 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:

bnge: Fix NULL pointer dereference in aux device release

If allocation of auxr_dev fails during auxiliary device setup, the error
path calls auxiliary_device_uninit(), which eventually invokes
bnge_aux_dev_release().

The release callback unconditionally dereferences aux_priv->auxr_dev->pdev
to retrieve the parent bnge_dev. Since auxr_dev has not yet been allocated
on this failure path, the dereference results in a NULL pointer exception

Retrieve the parent bnge_dev from the auxiliary device's parent instead of
auxr_dev, and free auxr_dev only when it was successfully allocated. This
allows the release callback to correctly clean up partially initialized
auxiliary devices.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74706?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-74706?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-74706 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74706 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-74706 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-74706 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 22 Aug 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-2026-74706 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2026-74706/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74706/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-74706
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74706
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-74706

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74706/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.