# CVE-2024-49881: ext4: update orig_path in ext4_find_extent()

> A local attacker can trigger a NULL pointer dereference in the ext4 filesystem, causing a kernel crash and 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:** 21 Oct 2024
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-51544, BELL-CVE-2024-49881, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-49881, GHSA-pvgc-vpgw-88mq, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-49881

## What is CVE-2024-49881?

CVE-2024-49881 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 Oct 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:

ext4: update orig_path in ext4_find_extent()

In ext4_find_extent(), if the path is not big enough, we free it and set
*orig_path to NULL. But after reallocating and successfully initializing
the path, we don't update *orig_path, in which case the caller gets a
valid path but a NULL ppath, and this may cause a NULL pointer dereference
or a path memory leak. For example:

ext4_split_extent
  path = *ppath = 2000
  ext4_find_extent
    if (depth > path[0].p_maxdepth)
      kfree(path = 2000);
      *orig_path = path = NULL;
      path = kcalloc() = 3000
  ext4_split_extent_at(*ppath = NULL)
    path = *ppath;
    ex = path[depth].p_ext;
    // NULL pointer dereference!

==================================================================
BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000010
CPU: 6 UID: 0 PID: 576 Comm: fsstress Not tainted 6.11.0-rc2-dirty #847
RIP: 0010:ext4_split_extent_at+0x6d/0x560
Call Trace:
 <TASK>
 ext4_split_extent.isra.0+0xcb/0x1b0
 ext4_ext_convert_to_initialized+0x168/0x6c0
 ext4_ext_handle_unwritten_extents+0x325/0x4d0
 ext4_ext_map_blocks+0x520/0xdb0
 ext4_map_blocks+0x2b0/0x690
 ext4_iomap_begin+0x20e/0x2c0
[...]
==================================================================

Therefore, *orig_path is updated when the extent lookup succeeds, so that
the caller can safely use path or *ppath.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-49881?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-49881?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-49881 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-49881 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-2024-49881 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-49881 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 Oct 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-2024-49881 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-2024-49881/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-49881/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-49881
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-49881
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-49881

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-49881/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.