CVE-2026-97978 eth: ice: don't dereference pointers from TP_printk()
A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel ice driver tracing code can cause a system crash when trace events are processed.
- 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-2026-97978?
CVE-2026-97978 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 25 Sep 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:
eth: ice: don't dereference pointers from TP_printk()
After forwarding net-next during the v7.3 merge window we started seeing:
TRACE EVENT ERROR: Event ice_tx_dim_work has double dereference in TP_printk: REC->q_vector->tx.tx_ring->q_index WARNING: kernel/trace/trace_events.c:420 at test_double_dereference.cold+0x39/0x4b
this is due to extra checks added in tracing subsystem in commit b5cc230af5e5 ("tracing: Warn when an event dereferences a pointer in TP_printk()").
Printing happens long after the event was recorded, by which point the pointers may be invalid (the ring or the dim instance). Copy the eight scalars into the event instead.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-97978?
How do I fix CVE-2026-97978?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-97978 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97978 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-104172, BELL-CVE-2026-97978, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97978, GHSA-3wqj-8258-77x5, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97978.