Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-46822

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-09-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.4.284 / 5.10.226 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: arm64: acpi: Harden get_cpu_for_acpi_id() against missing CPU entry In a review discussion of the changes to support vCPU hotplug where a check was added on the GICC being enabled if was online, it was noted that there is need to map back to the cpu and use that to index into a cpumask. As such, a valid ID is needed. If an MPIDR check fails in acpi_map_gic_cpu_interface() it is possible for the entry in cpu_madt_gicc[cpu] == NULL. This function would then cause a NULL pointer dereference. Whilst a path to trigger this has not been established, harden this caller against the possibility.

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:< 5.4.284>= 5.5, < 5.10.226>= 5.11, < 5.15.167>= 5.16, < 6.1.110>= 6.2, < 6.6.51>= 6.7, < 6.10.10

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 5.4.284 / 5.10.226 / 5.15.167 or later
Fixed in 5.4.2845.10.2265.15.167
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to the earliest patched version in your current kernel branch: 5.4.284+, 5.10.226+, 5.15.167+, or 6.1.110+

  1. Identify the currently running kernel version using 'uname -r'
  2. Determine which version branch the current kernel belongs to (e.g., 5.4.x, 5.10.x, 5.15.x, or 6.1.x)
  3. Upgrade the Linux kernel to the fixed version for that branch: 5.4.284 or later for 5.4.x, 5.10.226 or later for 5.10.x, 5.15.167 or later for 5.15.x, or 6.1.110 or later for 6.1.x
  4. Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
  5. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version and confirming the commit is included (or by checking for the NULL pointer check addition in get_cpu_for_acpi_id)
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuild of out-of-tree modules; ensure driver compatibility 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

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-46822 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-46822 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

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