# CVE-2024-36890: mm/slab: make __free(kfree) accept error pointers

> A flaw in the Linux kernel's slab allocator causes a crash when automatically freeing error pointers, leading to denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 30 May 2024
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-36890, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-36890, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-36890

## What is CVE-2024-36890?

CVE-2024-36890 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 30 May 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:

mm/slab: make __free(kfree) accept error pointers

Currently, if an automatically freed allocation is an error pointer that
will lead to a crash.  An example of this is in wm831x_gpio_dbg_show().

   171	char *label __free(kfree) = gpiochip_dup_line_label(chip, i);
   172	if (IS_ERR(label)) {
   173		dev_err(wm831x->dev, "Failed to duplicate label\n");
   174		continue;
   175  }

The auto clean up function should check for error pointers as well,
otherwise we're going to keep hitting issues like this.

Weakness: CWE-763 (Release of Invalid Pointer or Reference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-36890?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-36890?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-36890 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-36890 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-2024-36890 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-36890 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 30 May 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-2024-36890 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-2024-36890/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-36890/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-36890
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-36890
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-36890

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-36890/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.