CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2024-40952 — Linux Linux Kernel security vulnerability

Medium CVSS 5.5

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ocfs2: fix NULL pointer dereference in ocfs2_journal_dirty() bdev->bd_super has been removed and commit 8887b94d9322 change the usage from bdev->bd_super to b_assoc_map->host->i_sb. This introduces the following NULL pointer dereference in ocfs2_journal_dirty() since b_assoc_map is still not initialized. This can be easily reproduced by running xfstests generic/186, which simulate no more credits. [ 134.351592] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 ... [ 134.355341] RIP: 0010:ocfs2_journal_dirty+0x14f/0x160 [ocfs2] ... [ 134.365071] Call Trace: [ 134.365312] <TASK> [ 134.365524] ? __die_body+0x1e/0x60 [ 134.365868] ? page_fault_oops+0x13d/0x4f0 [ 134.366265] ? __pfx_bit_wait_io+0x10/0x10 [ 134.366659] ? schedule+0x27/0xb0 [ 134.366981] ? exc_page_fault+0x6a/0x140 [ 134.367356] ? asm_exc_page_fault+0x26/0x30 [ 134.367762] ? ocfs2_journal_dirty+0x14f/0x160 [ocfs2] [ 134.368305] ? ocfs2_journal_dirty+0x13d/0x160 [ocfs2] [ 134.368837] ocfs2_create_new_meta_bhs.isra.51+0x139/0x2e0 [ocfs2] [ 134.369454] ocfs2_grow_tree+0x688/0x8a0 [ocfs2] [ 134.369927] ocfs2_split_and_insert.isra.67+0x35c/0x4a0…

Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.5 (3.1)
Published
2024-07-12
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
linux/kernel
Weaknesses
CWE-476

Affected products

  • linux / linux_kernel
  • linux / linux_kernel / 6.10

Showing 2 representative product identities from 6 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Buffer bounds, memory safety, and memory corruption

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Identify affected native-code versions, build flags, architectures, parsers, codecs, drivers, and input paths in all shipped artifacts.
  • Determine whether untrusted data reaches the affected routine and the process privilege, sandbox, and network exposure.
  • Confirm statically linked, vendored, firmware, and platform-provided copies, not only package-manager records.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the maintained upstream correction or replace the affected component, then rebuild every dependent artifact from clean inputs.
  • Adopt bounds-checked interfaces, validated sizes and integer conversions, clear ownership, and memory-safe components where practical.
  • Enable supported compiler and runtime hardening and add sanitized tests and fuzz regression seeds derived from non-weaponized fixtures.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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