CVE-2024-50160 – This CVE describes a NULL pointer dereference v... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2024-50160?

CVE-2024-50160 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (MEDIUM). This CVE describes a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ALSA HDA CS8409 audio driver. If memory allocation fails in the dolphin_fixups function, a NULL pointer dereference could cause a kernel panic or system crash. This affects Linux systems using the CS8409 audio hardware with the vulnerable kernel driver.

📋 TL;DR

This CVE describes a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ALSA HDA CS8409 audio driver. If memory allocation fails in the dolphin_fixups function, a NULL pointer dereference could cause a kernel panic or system crash. This affects Linux systems using the CS8409 audio hardware with the vulnerable kernel driver.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Linux kernel

Versions: Specific kernel versions containing the vulnerable CS8409 driver code (check git commits for exact ranges)

Operating Systems: Linux distributions using vulnerable kernel versions

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Only affects systems with CS8409 audio hardware using the ALSA HDA driver. The vulnerability requires specific conditions where memory allocation fails.

📦 What is this software?

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...

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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

Kernel panic leading to system crash and denial of service, potentially causing data loss or system instability.

🟠

Likely Case

System crash or kernel panic when specific audio operations trigger the memory allocation failure condition.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minor system instability or audio functionality issues that are automatically recovered by the kernel's error handling.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - This is a local kernel driver vulnerability requiring local access or specific audio operations.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Local users or processes with audio access could potentially trigger the condition, causing system instability.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: NO

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: HIGH

Exploitation requires local access and specific conditions to trigger memory allocation failure. This is a reliability bug rather than a security bypass.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Kernel versions containing the fix commits: 21dc97d5086fdabbe278786bb0a03cbf2e26c793, 4e19aca8db696b6ba4dd8c73657405e15c695f14, 8971fd61210d75fd2af225621cd2fcc87eb1847c, a5dd71a8b849626f42d08a5e73d382f2016fc7bc, c9bd4a82b4ed32c6d1c90500a52063e6e341517f

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/21dc97d5086fdabbe278786bb0a03cbf2e26c793

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to a version containing the fix commits. 2. For distributions: Use package manager (apt/yum/dnf) to update kernel package. 3. Reboot system to load new kernel.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable CS8409 audio driver

linux

Blacklist or disable the vulnerable CS8409 HDA driver module

echo 'blacklist snd-hda-codec-cs8409' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-cs8409.conf
update-initramfs -u
reboot

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Restrict local user access to systems with CS8409 audio hardware
Monitor system logs for kernel panic or audio driver crash events

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check if CS8409 audio hardware is present: lspci | grep -i audio && lsmod | grep snd_hda_codec_cs8409

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Check kernel version contains fix commits: uname -r and verify against patched kernel versions

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Kernel panic messages
Audio driver crash logs in dmesg
System crash/reboot events

Network Indicators:

None - this is a local kernel vulnerability

SIEM Query:

source="kernel" AND ("panic" OR "Oops" OR "NULL pointer dereference") AND "cs8409"

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2024-50160

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

CWE: CWE-476

Published: November 7, 2024

Last Updated: November 3, 2025

🔗 References

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🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

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