#VU90725 NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2024-36961

Vulnerability identifier: #VU90725

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 4.3 [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-2024-36961

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 tze_seq_start(), tze_seq_next(), thermal_debug_tz_add() and thermal_debug_tz_remove() functions in drivers/thermal/thermal_debugfs.c. A local user can perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: 6.8, 6.8 rc1, 6.8 rc2, 6.8 rc5, 6.8.1, 6.8.2, 6.8.3, 6.8.4, 6.8.5, 6.8.6, 6.8.7, 6.8.8, 6.8.9

---

External links
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6c57bdd0505422d5ccd2df541d993aec978c842e
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c7f7c37271787a7f77d7eedc132b0b419a76b4c8
https://mirrors.edge.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v6.x/ChangeLog-6.8.10

---

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.