CVE-2024-53199
📋 TL;DR
This CVE is a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ASoC imx-audmix driver. If devm_kasprintf() fails and returns NULL, the code proceeds to use this NULL pointer, causing a kernel panic or system crash. This affects Linux systems using the affected kernel versions with the imx-audmix driver loaded.
💻 Affected Systems
- Linux kernel
📦 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...
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 requiring physical access to reboot the system.
Likely Case
System crash or kernel panic when the specific driver initialization fails, resulting in temporary denial of service until system reboot.
If Mitigated
No impact if the driver isn't loaded or if the memory allocation succeeds normally.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires triggering the specific memory allocation failure condition in the driver initialization path, which may be difficult to reliably achieve.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Patches available in stable kernel trees (commits: c040cbe2e13d, dc5aa71f39b4, e038f43edaf0)
Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c040cbe2e13da6454ae4748e04e53d885e1c9603
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update to a patched kernel version from your distribution vendor. 2. Rebuild kernel if compiling from source with the patched commits. 3. Reboot system to load the new kernel.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable imx-audmix driver
linuxPrevent loading of the vulnerable driver module
echo 'blacklist snd-soc-imx-audmix' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
rmmod snd_soc_imx_audmix
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Ensure the imx-audmix driver is not loaded by checking lsmod and blacklisting if present
- Implement strict access controls to prevent local users from triggering driver initialization failures
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if imx-audmix driver is loaded: lsmod | grep imx_audmix. If loaded and kernel version is unpatched, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
uname -rVerify Fix Applied:
Verify kernel version includes the patched commits or is from a distribution that has backported the fix. Check dmesg for any NULL pointer dereference errors related to imx_audmix.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Kernel panic messages in dmesg or system logs
- NULL pointer dereference errors mentioning imx_audmix or devm_kasprintf failure
Network Indicators:
- None - this is a local kernel vulnerability
SIEM Query:
source="kernel" AND ("NULL pointer dereference" OR "kernel panic") AND "imx_audmix"