CVE-2026-93115
NoneCVSS
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EPSS
0.2%
Published
Sep 17, 2026
CISA due date
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Cloudanix analysis
A bug in a Linux driver for certain hardware could let a local attacker crash the whole system by tricking the driver into running on the wrong device.
- Exploitation
- Local Privilege
- Attacker needs
- Local User
- Complexity
- Moderate
- Impact
- Denial Of Service
- Component
- OS kernel
- Class
- Memory Corruption
- Remediation
- Patch
- Effort
- Low
- Patch risk
- Low
What it actually does
NULL pointer dereference in mlxbf_pmc_probe when ACPI_COMPANION returns NULL, caused by passing the result directly to acpi_device_hid without a guard, triggered via device_match_driver_override forcing an incompatible device binding.
Why it matters to the business
Kernel crash or denial of service on systems using the mlxbf-pmc driver if an attacker or misconfiguration forces driver binding to a device lacking an ACPI companion object.
How an attack unfolds
An attacker with local access or the ability to influence device matching uses device_match_driver_override to bind the mlxbf-pmc driver to a device without an ACPI companion; during probe the missing check allows acpi_device_hid to dereference NULL, crashing the kernel.
How to fix it
Update the Linux kernel to a version containing the ACPI_COMPANION NULL check in mlxbf-pmc; rebuild and deploy the patched kernel module or full kernel image.
How to confirm the fix worked
Inspect mlxbf_pmc_probe source for an explicit ACPI_COMPANION(dev) != NULL test before calling acpi_device_hid; confirm the driver returns -ENODEV on missing companion.
Typical attack path
- Obtain local access or ability to load platform drivers
- Identify or create a device without ACPI companion
- Force driver binding via sysfs or module parameters
- Trigger device probe to reach mlxbf_pmc_probe
- Cause NULL dereference leading to kernel panic
How to detect it
Search kernel logs and dmesg for oops or panic traces referencing mlxbf_pmc_probe, ACPI_COMPANION, or acpi_device_hid; review audit logs for unexpected driver binding events.
- mlxbf_pmc_probe
- acpi_device_hid
- ACPI_COMPANION
What your security team should do
- Apply the upstream kernel patch adding the NULL guard immediately
- Audit systems for custom driver overrides or force-binding configurations
- Monitor kernel logs for oops involving mlxbf_pmc or acpi_device_hid
- Restrict unprivileged module loading and device matching where possible
The record
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: platform/mellanox: mlxbf-pmc: Check ACPI_COMPANION() against NULL Every platform driver can be forced to match a device that doesn't match its list of device IDs because of device_match_driver_override(), so platform drivers that rely on the existence of a device's ACPI companion object need to verify its presence. mlxbf_pmc_probe() passes the result of ACPI_COMPANION() to acpi_device_hid(), which dereferences it, so force-binding the driver to a device without an ACPI companion leads to a NULL pointer dereference. Accordingly, add a requisite ACPI_COMPANION() check against NULL to the mlxbf-pmc driver and return -ENODEV when the companion is missing.
Affected packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Introduced | Fixed |
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