NULL pointer dereference in Linux

CVE-2024-38543

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: lib/test_hmm.c: handle src_pfns and dst_pfns allocation failure The kcalloc() in dmirror_device_evict_chunk() will return null if the physical memory has run out. As a result, if src_pfns or dst_pfns is dereferenced, the null pointer dereference bug will happen. Moreover, the device is going away. If the kcalloc() fails, the pages mapping a chunk could not be evicted. So add a __GFP_NOFAIL flag in kcalloc(). Finally, as there is no need to have physically contiguous memory, Switch kcalloc() to kvcalloc() in order to avoid failing allocations.

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.002 (13.8th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 14th percentile — 13.8% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2024-38543: held from 0.002 to 0.002.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.002 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2024-38543?
CVE-2024-38543 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2024-06-19.
How severe is CVE-2024-38543?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.
Is CVE-2024-38543 known to be exploited?
1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.