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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-40952

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-07-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.6.36 / 6.9.7 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: ocfs2: fix NULL pointer dereference in ocfs2_journal_dirty() bdev->bd_super has been removed and commit 8887b94d9322 change the usage from bdev->bd_super to b_assoc_map->host->i_sb. This introduces the following NULL pointer dereference in ocfs2_journal_dirty() since b_assoc_map is still not initialized. This can be easily reproduced by running xfstests generic/186, which simulate no more credits. [ 134.351592] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 ... [ 134.355341] RIP: 0010:ocfs2_journal_dirty+0x14f/0x160 [ocfs2] ... [ 134.365071] Call Trace: [ 134.365312] <TASK> [ 134.365524] ? __die_body+0x1e/0x60 [ 134.365868] ? page_fault_oops+0x13d/0x4f0 [ 134.366265] ? __pfx_bit_wait_io+0x10/0x10 [ 134.366659] ? schedule+0x27/0xb0 [ 134.366981] ? exc_page_fault+0x6a/0x140 [ 134.367356] ? asm_exc_page_fault+0x26/0x30 [ 134.367762] ? ocfs2_journal_dirty+0x14f/0x160 [ocfs2] [ 134.368305] ? ocfs2_journal_dirty+0x13d/0x160 [ocfs2] [ 134.368837] ocfs2_create_new_meta_bhs.isra.51+0x139/0x2e0 [ocfs2] [ 134.369454] ocfs2_grow_tree+0x688/0x8a0 [ocfs2] [ 134.369927] ocfs2_split_and_insert.isra.67+0x35c/0x4a0 [ocfs2] [ 134.370521] ocfs2_split_extent+0x314/0x4d0 [ocfs2] [ 134.371019] ocfs2_change_extent_flag+0x174/0x410 [ocfs2] [ 134.371566] ocfs2_add_refcount_flag+0x3fa/0x630 [ocfs2] [ 134.372117] ocfs2_reflink_remap_extent+0x21b/0x4c0 [ocfs2] [ 134.372994] ? inode_update_timestamps+0x4a/0x120 [ 134.373692] ? __pfx_ocfs2_journal_access_di+0x10/0x10 [ocfs2] [ 134.374545] ? __pfx_ocfs2_journal_access_di+0x10/0x10 [ocfs2] [ 134.375393] ocfs2_reflink_remap_blocks+0xe4/0x4e0 [ocfs2] [ 134.376197] ocfs2_remap_file_range+0x1de/0x390 [ocfs2] [ 134.376971] ? security_file_permission+0x29/0x50 [ 134.377644] vfs_clone_file_range+0xfe/0x320 [ 134.378268] ioctl_file_clone+0x45/0xa0 [ 134.378853] do_vfs_ioctl+0x457/0x990 [ 134.379422] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x6e/0xd0 [ 134.379987] do_syscall_64+0x5d/0x170 [ 134.380550] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e [ 134.381231] RIP: 0033:0x7fa4926397cb [ 134.381786] Code: 73 01 c3 48 8b 0d bd 56 38 00 f7 d8 64 89 01 48 83 c8 ff c3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 90 f3 0f 1e fa b8 10 00 00 00 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 8b 0d 8d 56 38 00 f7 d8 64 89 01 48 [ 134.383930] RSP: 002b:00007ffc2b39f7b8 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000010 [ 134.384854] RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 0000000000000004 RCX: 00007fa4926397cb [ 134.385734] RDX: 00007ffc2b39f7f0 RSI: 000000004020940d RDI: 0000000000000003 [ 134.386606] RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 00111a82a4f015bb R09: 00007fa494221000 [ 134.387476] R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 0000000000000000 [ 134.388342] R13: 0000000000f10000 R14: 0000558e844e2ac8 R15: 0000000000f10000 [ 134.389207] </TASK> Fix it by only aborting transaction and journal in ocfs2_journal_dirty() now, and leave ocfs2_abort() later when detecting an aborted handle, e.g. start next transaction. Also log the handle details in this case.

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:>= 6.6, < 6.6.36>= 6.7, < 6.9.7= 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 6.6.36 / 6.9.7 or later
Fixed in 6.6.366.9.7
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

6.6.36+ (for 6.6.x), 6.9.7+ (for 6.7-6.9.x), or latest 6.10.y stable

  1. Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 6.6.36 or later if running kernel 6.6.x
  2. If running kernel 6.7.x through 6.9.x, upgrade to version 6.9.7 or later
  3. If running kernel 6.10.x, upgrade to the latest stable 6.10.y release that includes the fix (e.g., 6.10.1 or later stable update)
  4. After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  5. Verify the fix is applied by checking that the kernel version matches or exceeds the fixed versions listed
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuild of out-of-tree modules; ensure compatible drivers/modules exist for the target kernel version before upgrading

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

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Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-40952 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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