# CVE-2026-43401: linux: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cpufreq: intel_pstate: Fix NULL pointer derefere... CVE-2026-43401 is fixed in 23 products on 1 platform, first by ALAS2023-2026-1514, released March 30, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: Routine. - Web page: https://patchblox.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-43401 - Priority: Routine - CVSS: 5.5 (medium) - EPSS: 0.0012 - CISA KEV: not listed - Exploited (vendor report): no - Publicly disclosed: no - Published: Mar 30, 2026 ## 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 ] ## Where it's fixed | Platform | Product | Fixed in | Fix | Released | |---|---|---|---|---| | Linux | bpftool6.18 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.15-14.217.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-1514](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1514.md) | Mar 30, 2026 | | Linux | bpftool6.18-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.15-14.217.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-1514](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1514.md) | Mar 30, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-livepatch-6.18.15-14.217 amzn 2023 | 1:1.0-0.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-1514](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1514.md) | Mar 30, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.15-14.217.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-1514](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1514.md) | Mar 30, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.15-14.217.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-1514](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1514.md) | Mar 30, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-debuginfo-common-aarch64 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.15-14.217.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-1514](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1514.md) | Mar 30, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-debuginfo-common-x86_64 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.15-14.217.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-1514](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1514.md) | Mar 30, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-devel amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.15-14.217.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-1514](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1514.md) | Mar 30, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-headers amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.15-14.217.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-1514](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1514.md) | Mar 30, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-libbpf amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.15-14.217.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-1514](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1514.md) | Mar 30, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-libbpf-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.15-14.217.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-1514](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1514.md) | Mar 30, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-libbpf-devel amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.15-14.217.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-1514](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1514.md) | Mar 30, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-libbpf-static amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.15-14.217.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-1514](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1514.md) | Mar 30, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-modules-extra amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.15-14.217.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-1514](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1514.md) | Mar 30, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-modules-extra-common amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.15-14.217.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-1514](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1514.md) | Mar 30, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-tools amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.15-14.217.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-1514](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1514.md) | Mar 30, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-tools-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.15-14.217.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-1514](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1514.md) | Mar 30, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-tools-devel amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.15-14.217.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-1514](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1514.md) | Mar 30, 2026 | | Linux | linux Debian 14 | 6.19.10-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-43401](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-43401.md) | May 15, 2026 | | Linux | perf6.18 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.15-14.217.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-1514](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1514.md) | Mar 30, 2026 | | Linux | perf6.18-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.15-14.217.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-1514](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1514.md) | Mar 30, 2026 | | Linux | python3-perf6.18 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.15-14.217.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-1514](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1514.md) | Mar 30, 2026 | | Linux | python3-perf6.18-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.15-14.217.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-1514](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1514.md) | Mar 30, 2026 | --- Data as of 2026-11-08T13:06:02Z UTC. 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