The vulnerability is a NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel Damon subsystem. When the number of contexts is set to zero through the sysfs interface while Damon is active, internal functions dereference a null pointer and crash the kernel. This results in a system halt rather than arbitrary code execution.

The flaw exists in any Linux kernel that includes the Damon daemon monitoring functionality. It affects installations where the sysfs settings for Damon’s context count are accessible and can be modified while the daemon is running.

Because the vulnerability is triggered by writing to /sys/kernel/mm/damon/... the attacker requires privileged access (root or similar). Once the kernel crashes, the system becomes unavailable, creating a denial‑of‑service condition. The EPSS score is not available and the vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV, indicating no public exploitation yet. However, a local attacker with sufficient rights can easily trigger the issue using the damo utility or direct sysfs manipulation. The CVSS score is unspecified, but the impact is high for systems with a live Damon process.