NULL pointer dereference in Linux

CVE-2024-56549

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cachefiles: Fix NULL pointer dereference in object->file At present, the object->file has the NULL pointer dereference problem in ondemand-mode. The root cause is that the allocated fd and object->file lifetime are inconsistent, and the user-space invocation to anon_fd uses object->file. Following is the process that triggers the issue: [write fd] [umount] cachefiles_ondemand_fd_write_iter fscache_cookie_state_machine cachefiles_withdraw_cookie if (!file) return -ENOBUFS cachefiles_clean_up_object cachefiles_unmark_inode_in_use fput(object->file) object->file = NULL // file NULL pointer dereference! __cachefiles_write(..., file, ...) Fix this issue by add an additional reference count to the object->file before write/llseek, and decrement after it finished.

EPSS: 0.002 (12.7th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2024-56549?
CVE-2024-56549 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2024-12-27.
How severe is CVE-2024-56549?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2024-56549 known to be exploited?
3 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.