Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2024-53222
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: zram: fix NULL pointer in comp_algorithm_show() LTP reported a NULL pointer dereference as followed: CPU: 7 UID: 0 PID: 5995 Comm: cat Kdump: loaded Not tainted 6.12.0-rc6+ #3 Hardware name: QEMU KVM Virtual Machine, BIOS 0.0.0 02/06/2015 pstate: 40400005 (nZcv daif +PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) pc : __pi_strcmp+0x24/0x140 lr : zcomp_available_show+0x60/0x100 [zram] sp : ffff800088b93b90 x29: ffff800088b93b90 x28: 0000000000000001 x27: 0000000000400cc0 x26: 0000000000000ffe x25: ffff80007b3e2388 x24: 0000000000000000 x23: ffff80007b3e2390 x22: ffff0004041a9000 x21: ffff80007b3e2900 x20: 0000000000000000 x19: 0000000000000000 x18: 0000000000000000 x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000000 x15: 0000000000000000 x14: 0000000000000000 x13: 0000000000000000 x12: 0000000000000000 x11: 0000000000000000 x10: ffff80007b3e2900 x9 : ffff80007b3cb280 x8 : 0101010101010101 x7 : 0000000000000000 x6 : 0000000000000000 x5 : 0000000000000040 x4 : 0000000000000000 x3 : 00656c722d6f7a6c x2 : 0000000000000000 x1 : ffff80007b3e2900 x0 : 0000000000000000 Call trace: __pi_strcmp+0x24/0x140 comp_algorithm_show+0x40/0x70 [zram] dev_attr_show+0x28/0x80 sysfs_kf_seq_show+0x90/0x140 kernfs_seq_show+0x34/0x48 seq_read_iter+0x1d4/0x4e8 kernfs_fop_read_iter+0x40/0x58 new_sync_read+0x9c/0x168 vfs_read+0x1a8/0x1f8 ksys_read+0x74/0x108 __arm64_sys_read+0x24/0x38 invoke_syscall+0x50/0x120 el0_svc_common.constprop.0+0xc8/0xf0 do_el0_svc+0x24/0x38 el0_svc+0x38/0x138 el0t_64_sync_handler+0xc0/0xc8 el0t_64_sync+0x188/0x190 The zram->comp_algs[ZRAM_PRIMARY_COMP] can be NULL in zram_add() if comp_algorithm_set() has not been called. User can access the zram device by sysfs after device_add_disk(), so there is a time window to trigger the NULL pointer dereference. Move it ahead device_add_disk() to make sure when user can access the zram device, it is ready. comp_algorithm_set() is protected by zram->init_lock in other places and no such problem.
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
Linux KernelOperating system
>= 6.2, < 6.12.2CVSS 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 · scoped6.12.2
Linux Kernel 6.12.2
- Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 6.12.2 or later to include the stable patch that fixes the NULL pointer dereference in the zram driver
- After upgrading, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
- The fix moves the zram device initialization (specifically comp_algorithm_set) before device_add_disk() to ensure the zram->comp_algs[ZRAM_PRIMARY_COMP] is never NULL when users can access the device via sysfs
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-53222 — 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-2024-53222 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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