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CVE-2026-53281

8.8 · HIGH

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: iommu/vt-d: Avoid NULL pointer dereference or refcount corruption Commit 60f030f7418d ("iommu/vt-d: Avoid use of NULL after WAR…

Published Jun 26, 2026CWE-476EPSS 0.18%

Overview

CVE-2026-53281 is a high-severity vulnerability. It was published on June 26, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 (HIGH).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8, rated HIGH. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.

Technical description

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

iommu/vt-d: Avoid NULL pointer dereference or refcount corruption

Commit 60f030f7418d ("iommu/vt-d: Avoid use of NULL after WARN_ON_ONCE")

fixed a NULL pointer dereference in an unlikely situation partly.

If dev_pasid is not found in the dev_pasids list, it remains NULL.

However, the teardown operations are executed unconditionally, this lead

to a NULL pointer dereference or refcount corruption.

If the domain was never attached to this IOMMU, info will be NULL, which

would cause an immediate dereference when checking --info->refcnt.

Even if info is not NULL, decrementing the refcount without having removed

a valid PASID might unbalance the count. This could lead to premature

dropping of the refcount to 0, potentially causing a use-after-free for the

remaining active devices sharing the domain.

Fix it by returning early if dev_pasid is NULL, before executing the

teardown operations.

Issue found by AI review and s

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-53281?

CVE-2026-53281 is a high-severity vulnerability. It was published on June 26, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2026-53281?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8, rated HIGH. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2026-53281?

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2026-53281?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2026-53281 is actually reachable in your own applications and APIs, then verifies each finding before reporting it. That tells you if the weakness is a real, exploitable risk in your environment or a false positive you can safely deprioritize.

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