# CVE-2024-50028: thermal: core: Reference count the zone in thermal_zone_get_by_id()

> A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel thermal subsystem allows attackers to cause denial of service or execute arbitrary code.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-51416, AZL-51504, BELL-CVE-2024-50028, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-50028, GHSA-xcmw-c2xm-xxjw, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2024-50028, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2024-50028, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2024-50028, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-50028

## What is CVE-2024-50028?

CVE-2024-50028 is a high-severity use after free 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:

thermal: core: Reference count the zone in thermal_zone_get_by_id()

There are places in the thermal netlink code where nothing prevents
the thermal zone object from going away while being accessed after it
has been returned by thermal_zone_get_by_id().

To address this, make thermal_zone_get_by_id() get a reference on the
thermal zone device object to be returned with the help of get_device(),
under thermal_list_lock, and adjust all of its callers to this change
with the help of the cleanup.h infrastructure.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-50028?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-50028?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-50028 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-50028 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-2024-50028 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-50028 is a high-severity use after free 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-2024-50028 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-2024-50028/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-50028/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-50028
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-50028
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-50028

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-50028/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.