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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-42254

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-08-08
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
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: io_uring: fix error pbuf checking Syz reports a problem, which boils down to NULL vs IS_ERR inconsistent error handling in io_alloc_pbuf_ring(). KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000000-0x0000000000000007] RIP: 0010:__io_remove_buffers+0xac/0x700 io_uring/kbuf.c:341 Call Trace: <TASK> io_put_bl io_uring/kbuf.c:378 [inline] io_destroy_buffers+0x14e/0x490 io_uring/kbuf.c:392 io_ring_ctx_free+0xa00/0x1070 io_uring/io_uring.c:2613 io_ring_exit_work+0x80f/0x8a0 io_uring/io_uring.c:2844 process_one_work kernel/workqueue.c:3231 [inline] process_scheduled_works+0xa2c/0x1830 kernel/workqueue.c:3312 worker_thread+0x86d/0xd40 kernel/workqueue.c:3390 kthread+0x2f0/0x390 kernel/kthread.c:389 ret_from_fork+0x4b/0x80 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:147 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:244

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:= 6.10

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
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel 6.10.1 or later stable release (or equivalent distribution kernel update)

  1. Upgrade to a Linux kernel version that includes the fix commit 68d19af95a353f5e2b021602180b65b303eba99d
  2. For kernel 6.10, this fix was included in the 6.10.1 stable release or later
  3. If using a distribution kernel, upgrade to the latest kernel package available from your vendor for the 6.10 series or newer
  4. Reboot into the new kernel to apply the fix
  5. Verify the kernel version post-reboot with: uname -r
Caveat Standard kernel upgrade risks apply - ensure compatibility with userspace tools and drivers before production deployment

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

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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-2024-42254 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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