# CVE-2024-44960: usb: gadget: core: Check for unset descriptor

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel USB gadget core can cause a system panic if descriptors are unset or malformed.

- **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:** 4 Sep 2024
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-44960, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-44960, GHSA-vc2g-hqvc-wcmf, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-44960

## What is CVE-2024-44960?

CVE-2024-44960 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 Sep 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:

usb: gadget: core: Check for unset descriptor

Make sure the descriptor has been set before looking at maxpacket.
This fixes a null pointer panic in this case.

This may happen if the gadget doesn't properly set up the endpoint
for the current speed, or the gadget descriptors are malformed and
the descriptor for the speed/endpoint are not found.

No current gadget driver is known to have this problem, but this
may cause a hard-to-find bug during development of new gadgets.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-44960?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-44960?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-44960 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-44960 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-2024-44960 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-44960 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 Sep 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-2024-44960 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-2024-44960/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-44960/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-44960
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-44960
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-44960

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-44960/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.