# CVE-2024-57981: usb: xhci: Fix NULL pointer dereference on certain command aborts

> A local attacker with physical access can cause a kernel crash by triggering a specific USB command abort sequence in the xHCI driver.

- **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:** 27 Feb 2025
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-58021, BELL-CVE-2024-57981, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-57981, GHSA-mq27-r9q4-8847, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2024-57981, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-57981

## What is CVE-2024-57981?

CVE-2024-57981 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 Feb 2025. 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:

usb: xhci: Fix NULL pointer dereference on certain command aborts

If a command is queued to the final usable TRB of a ring segment, the
enqueue pointer is advanced to the subsequent link TRB and no further.
If the command is later aborted, when the abort completion is handled
the dequeue pointer is advanced to the first TRB of the next segment.

If no further commands are queued, xhci_handle_stopped_cmd_ring() sees
the ring pointers unequal and assumes that there is a pending command,
so it calls xhci_mod_cmd_timer() which crashes if cur_cmd was NULL.

Don't attempt timer setup if cur_cmd is NULL. The subsequent doorbell
ring likely is unnecessary too, but it's harmless. Leave it alone.

This is probably Bug 219532, but no confirmation has been received.

The issue has been independently reproduced and confirmed fixed using
a USB MCU programmed to NAK the Status stage of SET_ADDRESS forever.
Everything continued working normally after several prevented crashes.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-57981?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-57981?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-57981 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-57981 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-2024-57981 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-57981 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 Feb 2025. 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-2024-57981 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-2024-57981/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-57981/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-57981
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-57981
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-57981

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-57981/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.