# CVE-2026-74741: net: ngbe: fix NULL pointer dereference in non-MSI-X interrupt enabling

> A NULL pointer dereference in the ngbe network driver causes a kernel crash when non-MSI-X interrupts are used, leading to denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 26 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 27 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-74741, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74741, GHSA-6j22-8cx7-cjfj, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74741

## What is CVE-2026-74741?

CVE-2026-74741 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 26 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net: ngbe: fix NULL pointer dereference in non-MSI-X interrupt enabling

In non-MSI-X mode (such as legacy INTx or single MSI), wx->msix_entry is
not allocated or initialized. Calling NGBE_INTR_MISC(wx) dereferences
wx->msix_entry->entry, leading to a NULL pointer dereference crash.

This issue was introduced by fixing the IRQ vector when the number of
VFs is 7. Fix the issue by explicitly checking `pdev->msix_enabled` to
determine the correct vector index.

Additionally, as a side fix, set the interrupt mask to BIT(0) for the
non-MSI-X fallback. In MSI/INTx mode, the MISC and queue interrupts
share vector 0, and the WX_PX_MISC_IVAR register is only valid in the
MSI-X case. Thus, BIT(0) is the correct mask for the miscellaneous cause
when MSI-X is disabled.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74741?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-74741?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-74741 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74741 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-74741 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-74741 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 26 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74741 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-2026-74741/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74741/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-74741
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74741
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-74741

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74741/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.