NULL pointer dereference in Linux

CVE-2024-56593

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: brcmfmac: Fix oops due to NULL pointer dereference in brcmf_sdiod_sglist_rw() This patch fixes a NULL pointer dereference bug in brcmfmac that occurs when a high 'sd_sgentry_align' value applies (e.g. 512) and a lot of queued SKBs are sent from the pkt queue. The problem is the number of entries in the pre-allocated sgtable, it is nents = max(rxglom_size, txglom_size) + max(rxglom_size, txglom_size) >> 4 + 1. Given the default [rt]xglom_size=32 it's actually 35 which is too small. Worst case, the pkt queue can end up with 64 SKBs. This occurs when a new SKB is added for each original SKB if tailroom isn't enough to hold tail_pad. At least one sg entry is needed for each SKB. So, eventually the "skb_queue_walk loop" in brcmf_sdiod_sglist_rw may run out of sg entries. This makes sg_next return NULL and this causes the oops. The patch sets nents to max(rxglom_size, txglom_size) * 2 to be able handle the worst-case. Btw. this requires only 64-35=29 * 16 (or 20 if CONFIG_NEED_SG_DMA_LENGTH) = 464 additional bytes of memory.

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 (13.6th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 14th percentile — 13.6% 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-2024-56593: 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-2024-56593?
CVE-2024-56593 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2024-12-27.
How severe is CVE-2024-56593?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.
Is CVE-2024-56593 known to be exploited?
2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.