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Linux Kernel CVE-2024-26745

MEDIUM
NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476)
2024-04-04 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
4.4
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A10:2025 - Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions
ASVS 5.0
V16 - Security Logging and Error Handling Null pointer safety, defensive checks
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Impact

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS score of 4.4 (MEDIUM). Attack characteristics: local attack vector, low complexity, high privileges required, no user interaction not required.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A local attacker with access to the system could crash the application by dereferencing a null pointer.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.2% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: powerpc/pseries/iommu: IOMMU table is not initialized for kdump over SR-IOV When kdump kernel tries to copy dump data over SR-IOV,. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability could allow attackers to crash the application by dereferencing a null pointer.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Check pointers before dereferencing. Use static analysis tools to detect null pointer paths.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476), which allows attackers to crash the application by dereferencing a null pointer. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: powerpc/pseries/iommu: IOMMU table is not initialized for kdump over SR-IOV When kdump kernel tries to copy dump data over SR-IOV, LPAR panics due to NULL pointer exception: Kernel attempted to read user page (0) - exploit attempt? (uid: 0) BUG: Kernel NULL pointer dereference on read at 0x00000000 Faulting instruction address: 0xc000000020847ad4 Oops: Kernel access of bad area, sig: 11 [#1] LE PAGE_SIZE=64K MMU=Radix SMP NR_CPUS=2048 NUMA pSeries Modules linked in: mlx5_core(+) vmx_crypto pseries_wdt papr_scm libnvdimm mlxfw tls psample sunrpc fuse overlay squashfs loop CPU: 12 PID: 315 Comm: systemd-udevd Not tainted 6.4.0-Test102+ #12 Hardware name: IBM,9080-HEX POWER10 (raw) 0x800200 0xf000006 of:IBM,FW1060.00 (NH1060_008) hv:phyp pSeries NIP: c000000020847ad4 LR: c00000002083b2dc CTR: 00000000006cd18c REGS: c000000029162ca0 TRAP: 0300 Not tainted (6.4.0-Test102+) MSR: 800000000280b033 <SF,VEC,VSX,EE,FP,ME,IR,DR,RI,LE> CR: 48288244 XER: 00000008 CFAR: c00000002083b2d8 DAR: 0000000000000000 DSISR: 40000000 IRQMASK: 1 ... NIP _find_next_zero_bit+0x24/0x110 LR bitmap_find_next_zero_area_off+0x5c/0xe0 Call Trace: dev_printk_emit+0x38/0x48 (unreliable) iommu_area_alloc+0xc4/0x180 iommu_range_alloc+0x1e8/0x580 iommu_alloc+0x60/0x130 iommu_alloc_coherent+0x158/0x2b0 dma_iommu_alloc_coherent+0x3c/0x50 dma_alloc_attrs+0x170/0x1f0 mlx5_cmd_init+0xc0/0x760 [mlx5_core] mlx5_function_setup+0xf0/0x510 [mlx5_core] mlx5_init_one+0x84/0x210 [mlx5_core] probe_one+0x118/0x2c0 [mlx5_core] local_pci_probe+0x68/0x110 pci_call_probe+0x68/0x200 pci_device_probe+0xbc/0x1a0 really_probe+0x104/0x540 __driver_probe_device+0xb4/0x230 driver_probe_device+0x54/0x130 __driver_attach+0x158/0x2b0 bus_for_each_dev+0xa8/0x130 driver_attach+0x34/0x50 bus_add_driver+0x16c/0x300 driver_register+0xa4/0x1b0 __pci_register_driver+0x68/0x80 mlx5_init+0xb8/0x100 [mlx5_core] do_one_initcall+0x60/0x300 do_init_module+0x7c/0x2b0 At the time of LPAR dump, before kexec hands over control to kdump kernel, DDWs (Dynamic DMA Windows) are scanned and added to the FDT. For the SR-IOV case, default DMA window "ibm,dma-window" is removed from the FDT and DDW added, for the device. Now, kexec hands over control to the kdump kernel. When the kdump kernel initializes, PCI busses are scanned and IOMMU group/tables created, in pci_dma_bus_setup_pSeriesLP(). For the SR-IOV case, there is no "ibm,dma-window". The original commit: b1fc44eaa9ba, fixes the path where memory is pre-mapped (direct mapped) to the DDW. When TCEs are direct mapped, there is no need to initialize IOMMU tables. iommu_table_setparms_lpar() only considers "ibm,dma-window" property when initiallizing IOMMU table. In the scenario where TCEs are dynamically allocated for SR-IOV, newly created IOMMU table is not initialized. Later, when the device driver tries to enter TCEs for the SR-IOV device, NULL pointer execption is thrown from iommu_area_alloc(). The fix is to initialize the IOMMU table with DDW property stored in the FDT. There are 2 points to remember: 1. For the dedicated adapter, kdump kernel would encounter both default and DDW in FDT. In this case, DDW property is used to initialize the IOMMU table. 2. A DDW could be direct or dynamic mapped. kdump kernel would initialize IOMMU table and mark the existing DDW as "dynamic". This works fine since, at the time of table initialization, iommu_table_clear() makes some space in the DDW, for some predefined number of TCEs which are needed for kdump to succeed. Affected products include: Linux Linux Kernel.

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Severity by source

Vendor (416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67) PRIMARY 4.4 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Primary rating from Vendor (416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67) · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorVendor: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
High
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

DescriptionCVE.org

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

powerpc/pseries/iommu: IOMMU table is not initialized for kdump over SR-IOV

When kdump kernel tries to copy dump data over SR-IOV, LPAR panics due to NULL pointer exception:

Kernel attempted to read user page (0) - exploit attempt? (uid: 0) BUG: Kernel NULL pointer dereference on read at 0x00000000 Faulting instruction address: 0xc000000020847ad4 Oops: Kernel access of bad area, sig: 11 [#1] LE PAGE_SIZE=64K MMU=Radix SMP NR_CPUS=2048 NUMA pSeries Modules linked in: mlx5_core(+) vmx_crypto pseries_wdt papr_scm libnvdimm mlxfw tls psample sunrpc fuse overlay squashfs loop CPU: 12 PID: 315 Comm: systemd-udevd Not tainted 6.4.0-Test102+ #12 Hardware name: IBM,9080-HEX POWER10 (raw) 0x800200 0xf000006 of:IBM,FW1060.00 (NH1060_008) hv:phyp pSeries NIP: c000000020847ad4 LR: c00000002083b2dc CTR: 00000000006cd18c REGS: c000000029162ca0 TRAP: 0300 Not tainted (6.4.0-Test102+) MSR: 800000000280b033 <SF,VEC,VSX,EE,FP,ME,IR,DR,RI,LE> CR: 48288244 XER: 00000008 CFAR: c00000002083b2d8 DAR: 0000000000000000 DSISR: 40000000 IRQMASK: 1 ... NIP _find_next_zero_bit+0x24/0x110 LR bitmap_find_next_zero_area_off+0x5c/0xe0 Call Trace: dev_printk_emit+0x38/0x48 (unreliable) iommu_area_alloc+0xc4/0x180 iommu_range_alloc+0x1e8/0x580 iommu_alloc+0x60/0x130 iommu_alloc_coherent+0x158/0x2b0 dma_iommu_alloc_coherent+0x3c/0x50 dma_alloc_attrs+0x170/0x1f0 mlx5_cmd_init+0xc0/0x760 [mlx5_core] mlx5_function_setup+0xf0/0x510 [mlx5_core] mlx5_init_one+0x84/0x210 [mlx5_core] probe_one+0x118/0x2c0 [mlx5_core] local_pci_probe+0x68/0x110 pci_call_probe+0x68/0x200 pci_device_probe+0xbc/0x1a0 really_probe+0x104/0x540 __driver_probe_device+0xb4/0x230 driver_probe_device+0x54/0x130 __driver_attach+0x158/0x2b0 bus_for_each_dev+0xa8/0x130 driver_attach+0x34/0x50 bus_add_driver+0x16c/0x300 driver_register+0xa4/0x1b0 __pci_register_driver+0x68/0x80 mlx5_init+0xb8/0x100 [mlx5_core] do_one_initcall+0x60/0x300 do_init_module+0x7c/0x2b0

At the time of LPAR dump, before kexec hands over control to kdump kernel, DDWs (Dynamic DMA Windows) are scanned and added to the FDT. For the SR-IOV case, default DMA window "ibm,dma-window" is removed from the FDT and DDW added, for the device.

Now, kexec hands over control to the kdump kernel.

When the kdump kernel initializes, PCI busses are scanned and IOMMU group/tables created, in pci_dma_bus_setup_pSeriesLP(). For the SR-IOV case, there is no "ibm,dma-window". The original commit: b1fc44eaa9ba, fixes the path where memory is pre-mapped (direct mapped) to the DDW. When TCEs are direct mapped, there is no need to initialize IOMMU tables.

iommu_table_setparms_lpar() only considers "ibm,dma-window" property when initiallizing IOMMU table. In the scenario where TCEs are dynamically allocated for SR-IOV, newly created IOMMU table is not initialized. Later, when the device driver tries to enter TCEs for the SR-IOV device, NULL pointer execption is thrown from iommu_area_alloc().

The fix is to initialize the IOMMU table with DDW property stored in the FDT. There are 2 points to remember:

  1. For the dedicated adapter, kdump kernel would encounter both

default and DDW in FDT. In this case, DDW property is used to initialize the IOMMU table.

  1. A DDW could be direct or dynamic mapped. kdump kernel would

initialize IOMMU table and mark the existing DDW as "dynamic". This works fine since, at the time of table initialization, iommu_table_clear() makes some space in the DDW, for some predefined number of TCEs which are needed for kdump to succeed.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.2%
Top 88% exploitable
Data Quality
2 sources
Confidence: Low

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.2%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Defer
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

22
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +22
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

A null pointer dereference occurs when a program attempts to access memory through a pointer that has been set to NULL (address 0x0).

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org

cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.18.18:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.8:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.8:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.8:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.8:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.8:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.8:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*
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