# CVE-2024-39506: liquidio: Adjust a NULL pointer handling path in lio_vf_rep_copy_packet

> A null pointer dereference in the liquidio network driver can cause a kernel crash, leading to denial of service.

- **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:** 12 Jul 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-39506, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-39506, GHSA-m9m2-8mh5-2h2v, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-39506

## What is CVE-2024-39506?

CVE-2024-39506 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 12 Jul 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:

liquidio: Adjust a NULL pointer handling path in lio_vf_rep_copy_packet

In lio_vf_rep_copy_packet() pg_info->page is compared to a NULL value,
but then it is unconditionally passed to skb_add_rx_frag() which looks
strange and could lead to null pointer dereference.

lio_vf_rep_copy_packet() call trace looks like:
	octeon_droq_process_packets
	 octeon_droq_fast_process_packets
	  octeon_droq_dispatch_pkt
	   octeon_create_recv_info
	    ...search in the dispatch_list...
	     ->disp_fn(rdisp->rinfo, ...)
	      lio_vf_rep_pkt_recv(struct octeon_recv_info *recv_info, ...)
In this path there is no code which sets pg_info->page to NULL.
So this check looks unneeded and doesn't solve potential problem.
But I guess the author had reason to add a check and I have no such card
and can't do real test.
In addition, the code in the function liquidio_push_packet() in
liquidio/lio_core.c does exactly the same.

Based on this, I consider the most acceptable compromise solution to
adjust this issue by moving skb_add_rx_frag() into conditional scope.

Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with SVACE.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-39506?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-39506?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-39506 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-39506 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-2024-39506 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-39506 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 12 Jul 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-2024-39506 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-2024-39506/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-39506/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-39506
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-39506
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-39506

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-39506/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.