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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-53237

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-12-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.20 / 5.5 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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: Bluetooth: fix use-after-free in device_for_each_child() Syzbot has reported the following KASAN splat: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in device_for_each_child+0x18f/0x1a0 Read of size 8 at addr ffff88801f605308 by task kbnepd bnep0/4980 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 4980 Comm: kbnepd bnep0 Not tainted 6.12.0-rc4-00161-gae90f6a6170d #1 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.3-2.fc40 04/01/2014 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x100/0x190 ? device_for_each_child+0x18f/0x1a0 print_report+0x13a/0x4cb ? __virt_addr_valid+0x5e/0x590 ? __phys_addr+0xc6/0x150 ? device_for_each_child+0x18f/0x1a0 kasan_report+0xda/0x110 ? device_for_each_child+0x18f/0x1a0 ? __pfx_dev_memalloc_noio+0x10/0x10 device_for_each_child+0x18f/0x1a0 ? __pfx_device_for_each_child+0x10/0x10 pm_runtime_set_memalloc_noio+0xf2/0x180 netdev_unregister_kobject+0x1ed/0x270 unregister_netdevice_many_notify+0x123c/0x1d80 ? __mutex_trylock_common+0xde/0x250 ? __pfx_unregister_netdevice_many_notify+0x10/0x10 ? trace_contention_end+0xe6/0x140 ? __mutex_lock+0x4e7/0x8f0 ? __pfx_lock_acquire.part.0+0x10/0x10 ? rcu_is_watching+0x12/0xc0 ? unregister_netdev+0x12/0x30 unregister_netdevice_queue+0x30d/0x3f0 ? __pfx_unregister_netdevice_queue+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_down_write+0x10/0x10 unregister_netdev+0x1c/0x30 bnep_session+0x1fb3/0x2ab0 ? __pfx_bnep_session+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_lock_release+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_woken_wake_function+0x10/0x10 ? __kthread_parkme+0x132/0x200 ? __pfx_bnep_session+0x10/0x10 ? kthread+0x13a/0x370 ? __pfx_bnep_session+0x10/0x10 kthread+0x2b7/0x370 ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 ret_from_fork+0x48/0x80 ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 </TASK> Allocated by task 4974: kasan_save_stack+0x30/0x50 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 __kasan_kmalloc+0xaa/0xb0 __kmalloc_noprof+0x1d1/0x440 hci_alloc_dev_priv+0x1d/0x2820 __vhci_create_device+0xef/0x7d0 vhci_write+0x2c7/0x480 vfs_write+0x6a0/0xfc0 ksys_write+0x12f/0x260 do_syscall_64+0xc7/0x250 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f Freed by task 4979: kasan_save_stack+0x30/0x50 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 kasan_save_free_info+0x3b/0x60 __kasan_slab_free+0x4f/0x70 kfree+0x141/0x490 hci_release_dev+0x4d9/0x600 bt_host_release+0x6a/0xb0 device_release+0xa4/0x240 kobject_put+0x1ec/0x5a0 put_device+0x1f/0x30 vhci_release+0x81/0xf0 __fput+0x3f6/0xb30 task_work_run+0x151/0x250 do_exit+0xa79/0x2c30 do_group_exit+0xd5/0x2a0 get_signal+0x1fcd/0x2210 arch_do_signal_or_restart+0x93/0x780 syscall_exit_to_user_mode+0x140/0x290 do_syscall_64+0xd4/0x250 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f In 'hci_conn_del_sysfs()', 'device_unregister()' may be called when an underlying (kobject) reference counter is greater than 1. This means that reparenting (happened when the device is actually freed) is delayed and, during that delay, parent controller device (hciX) may be deleted. Since the latter may create a dangling pointer to freed parent, avoid that scenario by reparenting to NULL explicitly.

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-416

Memory is used after it has been freed, so its contents — now potentially attacker-controlled — drive the program's behaviour. With careful heap grooming this becomes code execution. The fix requires disciplined ownership of memory and often a targeted rework of the object lifecycle.

General guidance for the use after free 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:>= 4.19.300, < 4.20>= 5.4.262, < 5.5>= 5.10.202, < 5.10.231>= 5.15.140, < 5.15.174>= 6.1.64, < 6.1.120>= 6.5.13, < 6.6>= 6.6.3, < 6.6.64>= 6.7, < 6.11.11>= 6.12, < 6.12.2

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 4.20 / 5.5 / 5.10.231 or later
Fixed in 4.205.55.10.231
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel 5.15.174, 5.10.231, 5.5, or 4.20 (or later stable releases)

  1. Upgrade the Linux kernel to a version that includes the fix commit 0f67ca2a80acf8b207240405b7f72d660665d3df
  2. For kernel 5.15.x: upgrade to kernel 5.15.174 or later
  3. For kernel 5.10.x: upgrade to kernel 5.10.231 or later
  4. For kernel 5.4.x: upgrade to kernel 5.5 or later
  5. For kernel 4.19.x: upgrade to kernel 4.20 or later
  6. After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuilding out-of-tree kernel modules; ensure driver compatibility before upgrading production systems

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 $3,200. 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

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-53237 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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