# CVE-2024-38553: net: fec: remove .ndo_poll_controller to avoid deadlocks

> A deadlock in the Linux kernel FEC network driver can cause a denial of service when netpoll is used.

- **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:** 19 Jun 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-48252, BELL-CVE-2024-38553, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-38553, GHSA-2hgc-w527-6cxw, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2024-38553, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-38553

## What is CVE-2024-38553?

CVE-2024-38553 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 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: fec: remove .ndo_poll_controller to avoid deadlocks

There is a deadlock issue found in sungem driver, please refer to the
commit ac0a230f719b ("eth: sungem: remove .ndo_poll_controller to avoid
deadlocks"). The root cause of the issue is that netpoll is in atomic
context and disable_irq() is called by .ndo_poll_controller interface
of sungem driver, however, disable_irq() might sleep. After analyzing
the implementation of fec_poll_controller(), the fec driver should have
the same issue. Due to the fec driver uses NAPI for TX completions, the
.ndo_poll_controller is unnecessary to be implemented in the fec driver,
so fec_poll_controller() can be safely removed.

Weakness: CWE-667 (Improper Locking)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-38553?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-38553?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-38553 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-38553 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-2024-38553 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-38553 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 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-2024-38553 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-2024-38553/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-38553/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-38553
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-38553
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-38553

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-38553/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.