# CVE-2024-37021: fpga: manager: add owner module and take its refcount

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel FPGA manager can cause a system crash when the parent device lacks a driver.

- **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:** 24 Jun 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-56303, BELL-CVE-2024-37021, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-37021, GHSA-9g63-jv3j-6766, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2024-37021, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2024-37021, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-37021

## What is CVE-2024-37021?

CVE-2024-37021 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 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:

fpga: manager: add owner module and take its refcount

The current implementation of the fpga manager assumes that the low-level
module registers a driver for the parent device and uses its owner pointer
to take the module's refcount. This approach is problematic since it can
lead to a null pointer dereference while attempting to get the manager if
the parent device does not have a driver.

To address this problem, add a module owner pointer to the fpga_manager
struct and use it to take the module's refcount. Modify the functions for
registering the manager to take an additional owner module parameter and
rename them to avoid conflicts. Use the old function names for helper
macros that automatically set the module that registers the manager as the
owner. This ensures compatibility with existing low-level control modules
and reduces the chances of registering a manager without setting the owner.

Also, update the documentation to keep it consistent with the new interface
for registering an fpga manager.

Other changes: opportunistically move put_device() from __fpga_mgr_get() to
fpga_mgr_get() and of_fpga_mgr_get() to improve code clarity since the
manager device is taken in these functions.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-37021?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-37021?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-37021 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-37021 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-2024-37021 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-37021 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 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-2024-37021 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-2024-37021/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-37021/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-37021
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-37021
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-37021

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-37021/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.