# CVE-2024-36281: net/mlx5: Use mlx5_ipsec_rx_status_destroy to correctly delete status rules

> A NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's mlx5 IPsec driver can cause a system crash when deleting status rules.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 21 Jun 2024
- **Updated:** 23 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-36281, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-36281, GHSA-6x25-7hx6-jxf2, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-36281

## What is CVE-2024-36281?

CVE-2024-36281 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 Jun 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net/mlx5: Use mlx5_ipsec_rx_status_destroy to correctly delete status rules

rx_create no longer allocates a modify_hdr instance that needs to be
cleaned up. The mlx5_modify_header_dealloc call will lead to a NULL pointer
dereference. A leak in the rules also previously occurred since there are
now two rules populated related to status.

  BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000
  #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode
  #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page
  PGD 109907067 P4D 109907067 PUD 116890067 PMD 0
  Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP
  CPU: 1 PID: 484 Comm: ip Not tainted 6.9.0-rc2-rrameshbabu+ #254
  Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS Arch Linux 1.16.3-1-1 04/01/2014
  RIP: 0010:mlx5_modify_header_dealloc+0xd/0x70
  <snip>
  Call Trace:
   <TASK>
   ? show_regs+0x60/0x70
   ? __die+0x24/0x70
   ? page_fault_oops+0x15f/0x430
   ? free_to_partial_list.constprop.0+0x79/0x150
   ? do_user_addr_fault+0x2c9/0x5c0
   ? exc_page_fault+0x63/0x110
   ? asm_exc_page_fault+0x27/0x30
   ? mlx5_modify_header_dealloc+0xd/0x70
   rx_create+0x374/0x590
   rx_add_rule+0x3ad/0x500
   ? rx_add_rule+0x3ad/0x500
   ? mlx5_cmd_exec+0x2c/0x40
   ? mlx5_create_ipsec_obj+0xd6/0x200
   mlx5e_accel_ipsec_fs_add_rule+0x31/0xf0
   mlx5e_xfrm_add_state+0x426/0xc00
  <snip>

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-36281?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-36281?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-36281 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-36281 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2024-36281 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-36281 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 Jun 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-36281 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-36281/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-36281/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-36281
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-36281
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-36281

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-36281/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.