The fbnic network driver in the Linux kernel contains a flaw where the number of active NAPI vectors is not reset when the vectors are freed during power‑management transitions. This oversight leaves the driver’s napi array pointing at deallocated memory. When the driver later accesses this stale pointer—such as during a device removal, forced suspend/resume cycle, or a failed recovery path—a NULL pointer dereference occurs, crashing the kernel. The crash halts all kernel‑space operations, effectively denying service to the affected system.

All Linux kernel builds that include the fbnic driver for network interface controllers are potentially affected. No specific version range is listed, so any kernel running this driver before the patch may be at risk.

The CVSS score is not provided, and EPSS data is unavailable, indicating no publicly documented exploitation. The vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV, suggesting it has not been widely exploited. The attack vector is likely local, requiring conditions such as a PCIe error recovery failure, a partial resume failure, or explicit device removal. While a public exploit is not known, the kernel crash can be triggered through normal device lifecycle events, making the risk moderate to high for systems that cannot be patched promptly.