CVE-2026-23332: linux kernel vulnerability

What is known

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cpufreq: intel_pstate: Fix crash during turbo disable When the system is booted with kernel command line argument "nosmt" or "maxcpus" to limit the number of CPUs, disabling turbo via: echo 1 > /sys/devices/system/cpu/intel_pstate/no_turbo results in a crash: PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP PTI ... RIP: 0010:store_no_turbo+0x100/0x1f0 ... This occurs because for_each_possible_cpu() returns CPUs even if they are not online. For those CPUs, all_cpu_data[] will be NULL. Since commit 973207ae3d7c ("cpufreq: intel_pstate: Rearrange max frequency updates handling code"), all_cpu_data[] is dereferenced even for CPUs which are not online, causing the NULL pointer dereference. To fix that, pass CPU number to intel_pstate_update_max_freq() and use all_cpu_data[] for those CPUs for which there is a valid cpufreq policy.

Business impact

Successful exploitation of CVE-2026-23332, a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.5) affecting linux kernel, may affect the confidentiality, integrity or availability of the vulnerable environment. The exact impact depends on the installed version, exposed interfaces and deployment configuration.

Recommended administrator action

Confirm whether linux kernel is present and compare installed versions with the vendor advisory and NVD record. Apply the vendor patch or documented mitigation; until remediation is complete, reduce exposure of affected interfaces, review relevant logs and monitor for indicators of exploitation. DataHouse can support version verification, managed patching, network exposure reduction, log review and backup validation for dedicated, cloud and colocated environments.

Sources

• NVD
• Reference
• Reference
• Reference