# CVE-2024-53167: nfs/blocklayout: Don't attempt unregister for invalid block device

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel NFS block layout driver can cause a system crash during unmount operations.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 27 Dec 2024
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-53167, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-53167, GHSA-2f9p-c2rc-cff7, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-53167

## What is CVE-2024-53167?

CVE-2024-53167 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 Dec 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

nfs/blocklayout: Don't attempt unregister for invalid block device

Since commit d869da91cccb ("nfs/blocklayout: Fix premature PR key
unregistration") an unmount of a pNFS SCSI layout-enabled NFS may
dereference a NULL block_device in:

  bl_unregister_scsi+0x16/0xe0 [blocklayoutdriver]
  bl_free_device+0x70/0x80 [blocklayoutdriver]
  bl_free_deviceid_node+0x12/0x30 [blocklayoutdriver]
  nfs4_put_deviceid_node+0x60/0xc0 [nfsv4]
  nfs4_deviceid_purge_client+0x132/0x190 [nfsv4]
  unset_pnfs_layoutdriver+0x59/0x60 [nfsv4]
  nfs4_destroy_server+0x36/0x70 [nfsv4]
  nfs_free_server+0x23/0xe0 [nfs]
  deactivate_locked_super+0x30/0xb0
  cleanup_mnt+0xba/0x150
  task_work_run+0x59/0x90
  syscall_exit_to_user_mode+0x217/0x220
  do_syscall_64+0x8e/0x160

This happens because even though we were able to create the
nfs4_deviceid_node, the lookup for the device was unable to attach the
block device to the pnfs_block_dev.

If we never found a block device to register, we can avoid this case with
the PNFS_BDEV_REGISTERED flag.  Move the deref behind the test for the
flag.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-53167?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-53167?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-53167 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-53167 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-2024-53167 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-53167 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 Dec 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-53167 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-2024-53167/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-53167/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-53167
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-53167
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-53167

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-53167/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.