# CVE-2024-42254: io_uring: fix error pbuf checking

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's io_uring subsystem allows local attackers to cause a system crash.

- **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:** 8 Aug 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-42254, GHSA-pj8g-xgcw-9p63, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-42254

## What is CVE-2024-42254?

CVE-2024-42254 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 8 Aug 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:

io_uring: fix error pbuf checking

Syz reports a problem, which boils down to NULL vs IS_ERR inconsistent
error handling in io_alloc_pbuf_ring().

KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000000-0x0000000000000007]
RIP: 0010:__io_remove_buffers+0xac/0x700 io_uring/kbuf.c:341
Call Trace:
 <TASK>
 io_put_bl io_uring/kbuf.c:378 [inline]
 io_destroy_buffers+0x14e/0x490 io_uring/kbuf.c:392
 io_ring_ctx_free+0xa00/0x1070 io_uring/io_uring.c:2613
 io_ring_exit_work+0x80f/0x8a0 io_uring/io_uring.c:2844
 process_one_work kernel/workqueue.c:3231 [inline]
 process_scheduled_works+0xa2c/0x1830 kernel/workqueue.c:3312
 worker_thread+0x86d/0xd40 kernel/workqueue.c:3390
 kthread+0x2f0/0x390 kernel/kthread.c:389
 ret_from_fork+0x4b/0x80 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:147
 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:244

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-42254?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-42254?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-42254 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-42254 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-2024-42254 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-42254 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 8 Aug 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-2024-42254 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-2024-42254/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-42254/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-42254
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-42254
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-42254

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-42254/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.