# CVE-2024-53049: slub/kunit: fix a WARNING due to unwrapped __kmalloc_cache_noprof

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's SLUB allocator triggers a warning and potential crash when running specific KUnit tests.

- **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:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-53049, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-53049, GHSA-xxcq-q4px-9ggw, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-53049

## What is CVE-2024-53049?

CVE-2024-53049 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:

slub/kunit: fix a WARNING due to unwrapped __kmalloc_cache_noprof

'modprobe slub_kunit' will have a warning as shown below. The root cause
is that __kmalloc_cache_noprof was directly used, which resulted in no
alloc_tag being allocated. This caused current->alloc_tag to be null,
leading to a warning in alloc_tag_add_check.

Let's add an alloc_hook layer to __kmalloc_cache_noprof specifically
within lib/slub_kunit.c, which is the only user of this internal slub
function outside kmalloc implementation itself.

[58162.947016] WARNING: CPU: 2 PID: 6210 at
./include/linux/alloc_tag.h:125 alloc_tagging_slab_alloc_hook+0x268/0x27c
[58162.957721] Call trace:
[58162.957919]  alloc_tagging_slab_alloc_hook+0x268/0x27c
[58162.958286]  __kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x14c/0x344
[58162.958615]  test_kmalloc_redzone_access+0x50/0x10c [slub_kunit]
[58162.959045]  kunit_try_run_case+0x74/0x184 [kunit]
[58162.959401]  kunit_generic_run_threadfn_adapter+0x2c/0x4c [kunit]
[58162.959841]  kthread+0x10c/0x118
[58162.960093]  ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20
[58162.960363] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-53049?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-53049?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-53049 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-53049 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-2024-53049 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-53049 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-2024-53049 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-2024-53049/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-53049/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-53049
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-53049
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-53049

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-53049/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.