CVE-2024-45000
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 · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/netfs/fscache_cookie: add missing "n_accesses" check This fixes a NULL pointer dereference bug due to a data race which looks like this: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000008 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP PTI CPU: 33 PID: 16573 Comm: kworker/u97:799 Not tainted 6.8.7-cm4all1-hp+ #43 Hardware name: HP ProLiant DL380 Gen9/ProLiant DL380 Gen9, BIOS P89 10/17/2018 Workqueue: events_unbound netfs_rreq_write_to_cache_work RIP: 0010:cachefiles_prepare_write+0x30/0xa0 Code: 57 41 56 45 89 ce 41 55 49 89 cd 41 54 49 89 d4 55 53 48 89 fb 48 83 ec 08 48 8b 47 08 48 83 7f 10 00 48 89 34 24 48 8b 68 20 <48> 8b 45 08 4c 8b 38 74 45 49 8b 7f 50 e8 4e a9 b0 ff 48 8b 73 10 RSP: 0018:ffffb4e78113bde0 EFLAGS: 00010286 RAX: ffff976126be6d10 RBX: ffff97615cdb8438 RCX: 0000000000020000 RDX: ffff97605e6c4c68 RSI: ffff97605e6c4c60 RDI: ffff97615cdb8438 RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 0000000000278333 R09: 0000000000000001 R10: ffff97605e6c4600 R11: 0000000000000001 R12: ffff97605e6c4c68 R13: 0000000000020000 R14: 0000000000000001 R15: ffff976064fe2c00 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff9776dfd40000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000000000008 CR3: 000000005942c002 CR4: 00000000001706f0 Call Trace: <TASK> ? __die+0x1f/0x70 ? page_fault_oops+0x15d/0x440 ? search_module_extables+0xe/0x40 ? fixup_exception+0x22/0x2f0 ? exc_page_fault+0x5f/0x100 ? asm_exc_page_fault+0x22/0x30 ? cachefiles_prepare_write+0x30/0xa0 netfs_rreq_write_to_cache_work+0x135/0x2e0 process_one_work+0x137/0x2c0 worker_thread+0x2e9/0x400 ? __pfx_worker_thread+0x10/0x10 kthread+0xcc/0x100 ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 ret_from_fork+0x30/0x50 ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1b/0x30 </TASK> Modules linked in: CR2: 0000000000000008 ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- This happened because fscache_cookie_state_machine() was slow and was still running while another process invoked fscache_unuse_cookie(); this led to a fscache_cookie_lru_do_one() call, setting the FSCACHE_COOKIE_DO_LRU_DISCARD flag, which was picked up by fscache_cookie_state_machine(), withdrawing the cookie via cachefiles_withdraw_cookie(), clearing cookie->cache_priv. At the same time, yet another process invoked cachefiles_prepare_write(), which found a NULL pointer in this code line: struct cachefiles_object *object = cachefiles_cres_object(cres); The next line crashes, obviously: struct cachefiles_cache *cache = object->volume->cache; During cachefiles_prepare_write(), the "n_accesses" counter is non-zero (via fscache_begin_operation()). The cookie must not be withdrawn until it drops to zero. The counter is checked by fscache_cookie_state_machine() before switching to FSCACHE_COOKIE_STATE_RELINQUISHING and FSCACHE_COOKIE_STATE_WITHDRAWING (in "case FSCACHE_COOKIE_STATE_FAILED"), but not for FSCACHE_COOKIE_STATE_LRU_DISCARDING ("case FSCACHE_COOKIE_STATE_ACTIVE"). This patch adds the missing check. With a non-zero access counter, the function returns and the next fscache_end_cookie_access() call will queue another fscache_cookie_state_machine() call to handle the still-pending FSCACHE_COOKIE_DO_LRU_DISCARD.
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 analysisThe 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>= 5.17, < 6.1.107>= 6.2, < 6.6.48>= 6.7, < 6.10.7= 6.11CVSS 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 · scoped6.1.1076.6.486.10.7
Upgrade to kernel 6.1.107+, 6.6.48+, 6.10.7+, or the latest stable 6.11+ release (e.g., 6.12 or later)
- Identify the currently running Linux kernel version using `uname -r`
- Determine which version branch you are on (e.g., 6.1.x, 6.6.x, 6.10.x, or 6.11)
- Upgrade to a kernel version that includes the fix: for 6.1.x series upgrade to 6.1.107 or later, for 6.6.x series upgrade to 6.6.48 or later, for 6.10.x series upgrade to 6.10.7 or later, for 6.11 upgrade to a later stable release
- Update boot loader configuration if needed to ensure the new kernel is selected on next boot
- Reboot the system into the updated kernel
- Verify the fix is present by checking the fscache_cookie_state_machine function includes the n_accesses check, or by confirming the kernel version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-45000 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-45000 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
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