# CVE-2024-46856: net: phy: dp83822: Fix NULL pointer dereference on DP83825 devices

> A NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's DP83825 PHY driver can cause a system crash, requiring a kernel patch.

- **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:** 27 Sep 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-46856, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-46856, GHSA-cv8x-m68j-4834, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-46856

## What is CVE-2024-46856?

CVE-2024-46856 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 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:

net: phy: dp83822: Fix NULL pointer dereference on DP83825 devices

The probe() function is only used for DP83822 and DP83826 PHY,
leaving the private data pointer uninitialized for the DP83825 models
which causes a NULL pointer dereference in the recently introduced/changed
functions dp8382x_config_init() and dp83822_set_wol().

Add the dp8382x_probe() function, so all PHY models will have a valid
private data pointer to fix this issue and also prevent similar issues
in the future.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-46856?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-46856?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-46856 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-46856 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-2024-46856 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-46856 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 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-2024-46856 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-2024-46856/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-46856/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-46856
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-46856
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-46856

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-46856/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.