CVE-2024-35825

5.5 MEDIUM

Denial of Service

📋 TL;DR

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's USB gadget NCM driver allows infinite processing of zero-length packets, leading to system crashes. This affects systems using USB gadget functionality with NCM protocol, particularly embedded devices and servers with USB networking. The vulnerability can be triggered by connecting to a malicious or misconfigured host.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Linux kernel

Versions: Kernel versions with vulnerable NCM gadget driver (specific versions not specified in CVE, but patches available for multiple stable branches)

Operating Systems: Linux distributions using affected kernel versions

Default Config Vulnerable: ✅ No

Notes: Only vulnerable when USB gadget NCM functionality is enabled and in use. Many systems may not have this configured by default.

📦 What is this software?

Debian Linux by Debian

View all CVEs affecting Debian Linux →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

System crash leading to denial of service, potentially requiring physical intervention to restart affected devices.

🟠

Likely Case

System instability or crashes when connecting to certain USB hosts, particularly those with specific CDC_NCM_NTB_DEF_SIZE_TX configurations.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minimal impact if systems are not using USB gadget NCM functionality or are isolated from untrusted USB connections.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - Requires physical USB connection or USB-over-IP access.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Could be exploited by malicious internal devices or misconfigured USB hosts on the network.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires ability to connect as a USB host to the vulnerable device or access to USB-over-IP infrastructure.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Multiple stable kernel versions with commits: 6b2c73111a252263807b7598682663dc33aa4b4c, 7664ee8bd80309b90d53488b619764f0a057f2b7, 92b051b87658df7649ffcdef522593f21a2b296b, a0f77b5d6067285b8eca0ee3bd1e448a6258026f, a766761d206e7c36d7526e0ae749949d17ca582c

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6b2c73111a252263807b7598682663dc33aa4b4c

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to patched version from your distribution's repositories. 2. Reboot system to load new kernel. 3. Verify kernel version after reboot.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable USB gadget NCM functionality

linux

Prevent exploitation by disabling the vulnerable USB gadget NCM driver if not needed.

modprobe -r g_ncm
echo 'blacklist g_ncm' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

Restrict USB device connections

all

Limit USB connections to trusted hosts only through physical security or network segmentation.

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Disable USB gadget functionality entirely if not required
Implement strict physical access controls to prevent unauthorized USB connections

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check if g_ncm module is loaded: lsmod | grep g_ncm. If loaded and kernel version is unpatched, system is vulnerable.

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Check kernel version against patched versions from your distribution. Verify g_ncm module can be loaded without system instability.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Kernel panic logs
System crash dumps
USB connection errors in dmesg

Network Indicators:

Unusual USB-over-IP connections to affected systems

SIEM Query:

source="kernel" AND ("panic" OR "oops") AND ("ncm" OR "usb_gadget")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2024-35825

CVSS v3 Score: 5.5 (MEDIUM)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Published: May 17, 2024

Last Updated: December 17, 2025

🔗 References