CVE-2026-97980 s390/debug: Fix NULL pointer dereference in debug_set_level()
A NULL pointer dereference in the s390 debug API allows local privileged users to cause a kernel crash.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- An administrator
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-97980?
CVE-2026-97980 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:
s390/debug: Fix NULL pointer dereference in debug_set_level()
Commit a2cec6863709 ("s390/debug: Add s390dbf kernel parameter") incorrectly removed a null-id check from debug_set_level(), introducing a possible NULL pointer dereference for debug-API users that put debug_register() results unchecked into debug_set_level().
Fix this by moving the check from the internal _debug_set_level() variant back to the external debug_set_level() wrapper.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-97980?
How do I fix CVE-2026-97980?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-97980 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97980 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97980, GHSA-2pff-3q6f-mj8f, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97980.