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Linux CVE-2024-53224

MEDIUM
NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476)
2024-12-27 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
5.5
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
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 5.5 (MEDIUM). Attack characteristics: local attack vector, low complexity, low 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: RDMA/mlx5: Move events notifier registration to be after device registration Move pkey change work initialization and cleanup from. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), 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: RDMA/mlx5: Move events notifier registration to be after device registration Move pkey change work initialization and cleanup from device resources stage to notifier stage, since this is the stage which handles this work events. Fix a race between the device deregistration and pkey change work by moving MLX5_IB_STAGE_DEVICE_NOTIFIER to be after MLX5_IB_STAGE_IB_REG in order to ensure that the notifier is deregistered before the device during cleanup. Which ensures there are no works that are being executed after the device has already unregistered which can cause the panic below. BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP PTI CPU: 1 PID: 630071 Comm: kworker/1:2 Kdump: loaded Tainted: G W OE --------- --- 5.14.0-162.6.1.el9_1.x86_64 #1 Hardware name: Microsoft Corporation Virtual Machine/Virtual Machine, BIOS 090008 02/27/2023 Workqueue: events pkey_change_handler [mlx5_ib] RIP: 0010:setup_qp+0x38/0x1f0 [mlx5_ib] Code: ee 41 54 45 31 e4 55 89 f5 53 48 89 fb 48 83 ec 20 8b 77 08 65 48 8b 04 25 28 00 00 00 48 89 44 24 18 48 8b 07 48 8d 4c 24 16 <4c> 8b 38 49 8b 87 80 0b 00 00 4c 89 ff 48 8b 80 08 05 00 00 8b 40 RSP: 0018:ffffbcc54068be20 EFLAGS: 00010282 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff954054494128 RCX: ffffbcc54068be36 RDX: ffff954004934000 RSI: 0000000000000001 RDI: ffff954054494128 RBP: 0000000000000023 R08: ffff954001be2c20 R09: 0000000000000001 R10: ffff954001be2c20 R11: ffff9540260133c0 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: 0000000000000023 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: ffff9540ffcb0905 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff9540ffc80000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000000000000 CR3: 000000010625c001 CR4: 00000000003706e0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: mlx5_ib_gsi_pkey_change+0x20/0x40 [mlx5_ib] process_one_work+0x1e8/0x3c0 worker_thread+0x50/0x3b0 ? rescuer_thread+0x380/0x380 kthread+0x149/0x170 ? set_kthread_struct+0x50/0x50 ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 Modules linked in: rdma_ucm(OE) rdma_cm(OE) iw_cm(OE) ib_ipoib(OE) ib_cm(OE) ib_umad(OE) mlx5_ib(OE) mlx5_fwctl(OE) fwctl(OE) ib_uverbs(OE) mlx5_core(OE) mlxdevm(OE) ib_core(OE) mlx_compat(OE) psample mlxfw(OE) tls knem(OE) netconsole nfsv3 nfs_acl nfs lockd grace fscache netfs qrtr rfkill sunrpc intel_rapl_msr intel_rapl_common rapl hv_balloon hv_utils i2c_piix4 pcspkr joydev fuse ext4 mbcache jbd2 sr_mod sd_mod cdrom t10_pi sg ata_generic pci_hyperv pci_hyperv_intf hyperv_drm drm_shmem_helper drm_kms_helper hv_storvsc syscopyarea hv_netvsc sysfillrect sysimgblt hid_hyperv fb_sys_fops scsi_transport_fc hyperv_keyboard drm ata_piix crct10dif_pclmul crc32_pclmul crc32c_intel libata ghash_clmulni_intel hv_vmbus serio_raw [last unloaded: ib_core] CR2: 0000000000000000 ---[ end trace f6f8be4eae12f7bc ]--- Affected products include: Linux Linux Kernel.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 5.5 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

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

DescriptionNVD

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

RDMA/mlx5: Move events notifier registration to be after device registration

Move pkey change work initialization and cleanup from device resources stage to notifier stage, since this is the stage which handles this work events.

Fix a race between the device deregistration and pkey change work by moving MLX5_IB_STAGE_DEVICE_NOTIFIER to be after MLX5_IB_STAGE_IB_REG in order to ensure that the notifier is deregistered before the device during cleanup. Which ensures there are no works that are being executed after the device has already unregistered which can cause the panic below.

BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP PTI CPU: 1 PID: 630071 Comm: kworker/1:2 Kdump: loaded Tainted: G W OE --------- --- 5.14.0-162.6.1.el9_1.x86_64 #1 Hardware name: Microsoft Corporation Virtual Machine/Virtual Machine, BIOS 090008 02/27/2023 Workqueue: events pkey_change_handler [mlx5_ib] RIP: 0010:setup_qp+0x38/0x1f0 [mlx5_ib] Code: ee 41 54 45 31 e4 55 89 f5 53 48 89 fb 48 83 ec 20 8b 77 08 65 48 8b 04 25 28 00 00 00 48 89 44 24 18 48 8b 07 48 8d 4c 24 16 <4c> 8b 38 49 8b 87 80 0b 00 00 4c 89 ff 48 8b 80 08 05 00 00 8b 40 RSP: 0018:ffffbcc54068be20 EFLAGS: 00010282 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff954054494128 RCX: ffffbcc54068be36 RDX: ffff954004934000 RSI: 0000000000000001 RDI: ffff954054494128 RBP: 0000000000000023 R08: ffff954001be2c20 R09: 0000000000000001 R10: ffff954001be2c20 R11: ffff9540260133c0 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: 0000000000000023 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: ffff9540ffcb0905 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff9540ffc80000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000000000000 CR3: 000000010625c001 CR4: 00000000003706e0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: mlx5_ib_gsi_pkey_change+0x20/0x40 [mlx5_ib] process_one_work+0x1e8/0x3c0 worker_thread+0x50/0x3b0 ? rescuer_thread+0x380/0x380 kthread+0x149/0x170 ? set_kthread_struct+0x50/0x50 ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 Modules linked in: rdma_ucm(OE) rdma_cm(OE) iw_cm(OE) ib_ipoib(OE) ib_cm(OE) ib_umad(OE) mlx5_ib(OE) mlx5_fwctl(OE) fwctl(OE) ib_uverbs(OE) mlx5_core(OE) mlxdevm(OE) ib_core(OE) mlx_compat(OE) psample mlxfw(OE) tls knem(OE) netconsole nfsv3 nfs_acl nfs lockd grace fscache netfs qrtr rfkill sunrpc intel_rapl_msr intel_rapl_common rapl hv_balloon hv_utils i2c_piix4 pcspkr joydev fuse ext4 mbcache jbd2 sr_mod sd_mod cdrom t10_pi sg ata_generic pci_hyperv pci_hyperv_intf hyperv_drm drm_shmem_helper drm_kms_helper hv_storvsc syscopyarea hv_netvsc sysfillrect sysimgblt hid_hyperv fb_sys_fops scsi_transport_fc hyperv_keyboard drm ata_piix crct10dif_pclmul crc32_pclmul crc32c_intel libata ghash_clmulni_intel hv_vmbus serio_raw [last unloaded: ib_core] CR2: 0000000000000000 ---[ end trace f6f8be4eae12f7bc ]---

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.2%
Top 88% exploitable
Data Quality
4 sources
Confidence: Medium

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

28
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +28
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)NVD

cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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