# CVE-2024-50298: net: enetc: allocate vf_state during PF probes

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel enetc driver allows local attackers to cause a system crash by setting a VF MAC address before enabling VFs.

- **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:** 19 Nov 2024
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-53468, AZL-53781, BELL-CVE-2024-50298, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-50298, GHSA-fm8p-9649-2gq7, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2024-50298, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2024-50298, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2024-50298, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-50298

## What is CVE-2024-50298?

CVE-2024-50298 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Nov 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: enetc: allocate vf_state during PF probes

In the previous implementation, vf_state is allocated memory only when VF
is enabled. However, net_device_ops::ndo_set_vf_mac() may be called before
VF is enabled to configure the MAC address of VF. If this is the case,
enetc_pf_set_vf_mac() will access vf_state, resulting in access to a null
pointer. The simplified error log is as follows.

root@ls1028ardb:~# ip link set eno0 vf 1 mac 00:0c:e7:66:77:89
[  173.543315] Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000004
[  173.637254] pc : enetc_pf_set_vf_mac+0x3c/0x80 Message from sy
[  173.641973] lr : do_setlink+0x4a8/0xec8
[  173.732292] Call trace:
[  173.734740]  enetc_pf_set_vf_mac+0x3c/0x80
[  173.738847]  __rtnl_newlink+0x530/0x89c
[  173.742692]  rtnl_newlink+0x50/0x7c
[  173.746189]  rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x128/0x390
[  173.750298]  netlink_rcv_skb+0x60/0x130
[  173.754145]  rtnetlink_rcv+0x18/0x24
[  173.757731]  netlink_unicast+0x318/0x380
[  173.761665]  netlink_sendmsg+0x17c/0x3c8

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-50298?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-50298?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-50298 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-50298 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-2024-50298 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-50298 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Nov 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-2024-50298 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-2024-50298/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-50298/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-50298
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-50298
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-50298

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-50298/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.