Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
cpufreq: intel_pstate: Fix NULL pointer dereference in update_cpu_qos_request()
The update_cpu_qos_request() function attempts to initialize the 'freq'
variable by dereferencing 'cpudata' before verifying if the 'policy'
is valid.
This issue occurs on systems booted with the "nosmt" parameter, where
all_cpu_data[cpu] is NULL for the SMT sibling threads. As a result,
any call to update_qos_requests() will result in a NULL pointer
dereference as the code will attempt to access pstate.turbo_freq using
the NULL cpudata pointer.
Also, pstate.turbo_freq may be updated by intel_pstate_get_hwp_cap()
after initializing the 'freq' variable, so it is better to defer the
'freq' until intel_pstate_get_hwp_cap() has been called.
Fix this by deferring the 'freq' assignment until after the policy and
driver_data have been validated.
[ rjw: Added one paragraph to the changelog ]
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.18 | 6.18.19 |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | linux | 6.19.10-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-riscv +15 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv +32 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gke +28 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp +14 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime-6.14 | No fix yet | — |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | kernel-livepatch-6.18.15-14.217 | 1:1.0-0.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-1514 |
| Amazon Linux 2023 | perf6.18 +14 | 1:6.18.15-14.217.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-1514 |
Advisories 2
- WID-SEC-2026-1454 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 12, 2026
- ALAS2023-2026-1514 Important: kernel6.18 security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Jun 16, 2026