#VU94959 NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2024-42138

Vulnerability identifier: #VU94959

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2024-42138

CWE-ID: CWE-476

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Linux kernel
Operating systems & Components / Operating system

Vendor: Linux Foundation

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

The vulnerability exists due to NULL pointer dereference within the vfree() function in drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlxsw/core_linecards.c. A local user can perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: All versions

---

External links
http://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ab557f5cd993a3201b09593633d04b891263d5c0
http://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f8b55a465b0e8a500179808166fe9420f5c091a1
http://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9af7437669b72f804fc4269f487528dbbed142a2
http://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8ce34dccbe8fa7d2ef86f2d8e7db2a9b67cabfc3

---

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.