Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-40911

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-07-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.15.162 / 6.1.95 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: cfg80211: Lock wiphy in cfg80211_get_station Wiphy should be locked before calling rdev_get_station() (see lockdep assert in ieee80211_get_station()). This fixes the following kernel NULL dereference: Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000050 Mem abort info: ESR = 0x0000000096000006 EC = 0x25: DABT (current EL), IL = 32 bits SET = 0, FnV = 0 EA = 0, S1PTW = 0 FSC = 0x06: level 2 translation fault Data abort info: ISV = 0, ISS = 0x00000006 CM = 0, WnR = 0 user pgtable: 4k pages, 48-bit VAs, pgdp=0000000003001000 [0000000000000050] pgd=0800000002dca003, p4d=0800000002dca003, pud=08000000028e9003, pmd=0000000000000000 Internal error: Oops: 0000000096000006 [#1] SMP Modules linked in: netconsole dwc3_meson_g12a dwc3_of_simple dwc3 ip_gre gre ath10k_pci ath10k_core ath9k ath9k_common ath9k_hw ath CPU: 0 PID: 1091 Comm: kworker/u8:0 Not tainted 6.4.0-02144-g565f9a3a7911-dirty #705 Hardware name: RPT (r1) (DT) Workqueue: bat_events batadv_v_elp_throughput_metric_update pstate: 60000005 (nZCv daif -PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) pc : ath10k_sta_statistics+0x10/0x2dc [ath10k_core] lr : sta_set_sinfo+0xcc/0xbd4 sp : ffff000007b43ad0 x29: ffff000007b43ad0 x28: ffff0000071fa900 x27: ffff00000294ca98 x26: ffff000006830880 x25: ffff000006830880 x24: ffff00000294c000 x23: 0000000000000001 x22: ffff000007b43c90 x21: ffff800008898acc x20: ffff00000294c6e8 x19: ffff000007b43c90 x18: 0000000000000000 x17: 445946354d552d78 x16: 62661f7200000000 x15: 57464f445946354d x14: 0000000000000000 x13: 00000000000000e3 x12: d5f0acbcebea978e x11: 00000000000000e3 x10: 000000010048fe41 x9 : 0000000000000000 x8 : ffff000007b43d90 x7 : 000000007a1e2125 x6 : 0000000000000000 x5 : ffff0000024e0900 x4 : ffff800000a0250c x3 : ffff000007b43c90 x2 : ffff00000294ca98 x1 : ffff000006831920 x0 : 0000000000000000 Call trace: ath10k_sta_statistics+0x10/0x2dc [ath10k_core] sta_set_sinfo+0xcc/0xbd4 ieee80211_get_station+0x2c/0x44 cfg80211_get_station+0x80/0x154 batadv_v_elp_get_throughput+0x138/0x1fc batadv_v_elp_throughput_metric_update+0x1c/0xa4 process_one_work+0x1ec/0x414 worker_thread+0x70/0x46c kthread+0xdc/0xe0 ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20 Code: a9bb7bfd 910003fd a90153f3 f9411c40 (f9402814) This happens because STA has time to disconnect and reconnect before batadv_v_elp_throughput_metric_update() delayed work gets scheduled. In this situation, ath10k_sta_state() can be in the middle of resetting arsta data when the work queue get chance to be scheduled and ends up accessing it. Locking wiphy prevents that.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis
How this class of weakness works · CWE-476

The code follows a pointer that is null, crashing the process. An attacker who can reliably trigger it turns the crash into a denial of service. The fix is checking for null before use and handling the failure path gracefully.

General guidance for the null pointer dereference class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 3.16, < 5.15.162>= 5.16, < 6.1.95>= 6.2, < 6.6.35>= 6.7, < 6.9.6= 6.10

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.15.162 / 6.1.95 / 6.6.35 or later
Fixed in 5.15.1626.1.956.6.35
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

6.9.6 (or the next stable release in your current branch: 5.15.162, 6.1.95, or 6.6.35)

  1. Identify the current running kernel version using 'uname -r'
  2. Determine which kernel branch you are on (e.g., 5.15.x, 6.1.x, 6.2.x, 6.7.x)
  3. Upgrade the Linux kernel to the fixed version in your branch: 5.15.162 for 5.15.x, 6.1.95 for 6.1.x, 6.6.35 for 6.2-6.6.x, or 6.9.6 for 6.7-6.9.x
  4. Update bootloader configuration if necessary (e.g., update-grub for GRUB)
  5. Reboot the system into the new kernel
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuild of third-party kernel modules (e.g., NVIDIA drivers, VirtualBox); ensure compatible drivers are available before reboot

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $2,850. Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-40911 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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