# CVE-2024-40911: wifi: cfg80211: Lock wiphy in cfg80211_get_station

> A missing lock in the Linux kernel WiFi subsystem causes a NULL pointer dereference, leading to a system crash.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 12 Jul 2024
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-40911, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-40911, GHSA-8xrm-p372-wx3c, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2024-40911, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-40911

## What is CVE-2024-40911?

CVE-2024-40911 is a high-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:

wifi: cfg80211: Lock wiphy in cfg80211_get_station

Wiphy should be locked before calling rdev_get_station() (see lockdep
assert in ieee80211_get_station()).

This fixes the following kernel NULL dereference:

 Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000050
 Mem abort info:
   ESR = 0x0000000096000006
   EC = 0x25: DABT (current EL), IL = 32 bits
   SET = 0, FnV = 0
   EA = 0, S1PTW = 0
   FSC = 0x06: level 2 translation fault
 Data abort info:
   ISV = 0, ISS = 0x00000006
   CM = 0, WnR = 0
 user pgtable: 4k pages, 48-bit VAs, pgdp=0000000003001000
 [0000000000000050] pgd=0800000002dca003, p4d=0800000002dca003, pud=08000000028e9003, pmd=0000000000000000
 Internal error: Oops: 0000000096000006 [#1] SMP
 Modules linked in: netconsole dwc3_meson_g12a dwc3_of_simple dwc3 ip_gre gre ath10k_pci ath10k_core ath9k ath9k_common ath9k_hw ath
 CPU: 0 PID: 1091 Comm: kworker/u8:0 Not tainted 6.4.0-02144-g565f9a3a7911-dirty #705
 Hardware name: RPT (r1) (DT)
 Workqueue: bat_events batadv_v_elp_throughput_metric_update
 pstate: 60000005 (nZCv daif -PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--)
 pc : ath10k_sta_statistics+0x10/0x2dc [ath10k_core]
 lr : sta_set_sinfo+0xcc/0xbd4
 sp : ffff000007b43ad0
 x29: ffff000007b43ad0 x28: ffff0000071fa900 x27: ffff00000294ca98
 x26: ffff000006830880 x25: ffff000006830880 x24: ffff00000294c000
 x23: 0000000000000001 x22: ffff000007b43c90 x21: ffff800008898acc
 x20: ffff00000294c6e8 x19: ffff000007b43c90 x18: 0000000000000000
 x17: 445946354d552d78 x16: 62661f7200000000 x15: 57464f445946354d
 x14: 0000000000000000 x13: 00000000000000e3 x12: d5f0acbcebea978e
 x11: 00000000000000e3 x10: 000000010048fe41 x9 : 0000000000000000
 x8 : ffff000007b43d90 x7 : 000000007a1e2125 x6 : 0000000000000000
 x5 : ffff0000024e0900 x4 : ffff800000a0250c x3 : ffff000007b43c90
 x2 : ffff00000294ca98 x1 : ffff000006831920 x0 : 0000000000000000
 Call trace:
  ath10k_sta_statistics+0x10/0x2dc [ath10k_core]
  sta_set_sinfo+0xcc/0xbd4
  ieee80211_get_station+0x2c/0x44
  cfg80211_get_station+0x80/0x154
  batadv_v_elp_get_throughput+0x138/0x1fc
  batadv_v_elp_throughput_metric_update+0x1c/0xa4
  process_one_work+0x1ec/0x414
  worker_thread+0x70/0x46c
  kthread+0xdc/0xe0
  ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20
 Code: a9bb7bfd 910003fd a90153f3 f9411c40 (f9402814)

This happens because STA has time to disconnect and reconnect before
batadv_v_elp_throughput_metric_update() delayed work gets scheduled. In
this situation, ath10k_sta_state() can be in the middle of resetting
arsta data when the work queue get chance to be scheduled and ends up
accessing it. Locking wiphy prevents that.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-40911?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-40911?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-40911 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-40911 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-2024-40911 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-40911 is a high-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-2024-40911 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-2024-40911/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-40911/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-40911
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-40911
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-40911

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-40911/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.