Executive brief
A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's Canaan K230 pinctrl driver can cause a system crash (NULL pointer dereference) during the hardware initialization process. This occurs when the system attempts to read device configuration data before the necessary internal structures are fully set up. While primarily an availability issue, it could lead to a denial-of-service state for devices using this specific hardware component.
Technical details
A NULL pointer dereference exists in the k230 pinctrl driver within the Linux kernel. The issue occurs in k230_pinctrl_parse_functions() and k230_pinctrl_parse_groups() because the code attempts to access info->pctl_dev->dev before info->pctl_dev has been initialized. This initialization only occurs after k230_pinctrl_parse_dt() completes, creating a race condition or initialization order flaw during the probe sequence. An attacker with the ability to influence devicetree parsing or trigger driver probing could cause a kernel panic. The fix involves using the device pointer already available from the platform_device structure.
Affected products
- Linux Linux Kernel Canaan K230 pinctrl driver
Timeline
- 2025-12-28: other: Patch authored
- 2026-02-03: patched: Mainline kernel patch committed
- 2026-06-03: advisory: NVD publication date