BlackTreeIndependent security intelligenceLinux · Linux
Medium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.
Medium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.
Patch availableIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ethtool: ioctl: fix potential NULL deref in ethtool_set_coalesce() ethtool_set_coalesce() now uses both the .get_coalesce() and .set_coalesce() callbacks. But the check for their availability is buggy, so changing the coalesce settings on a device where the driver provides only _one_ of the callbacks results in a NULL pointer dereference instead of an -EOPNOTSUPP. Fix the condition so that the availability of both callbacks is ensured. This also matches the netlink code. Note that reproducing this requires some effort - it only affects the legacy ioctl path, and needs a specific combination of driver options: - have .get_coalesce() and .coalesce_supported but no .set_coalesce(), or - have .set_coalesce() but no .get_coalesce(). Here eg. ethtool doesn't cause the crash as it first attempts to call ethtool_get_coalesce() and bails out on error.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ethtool: ioctl: fix potential NULL deref in ethtool_set_coalesce() ethtool_set_coalesce() now uses both the .get_coalesce() and .set_coalesce() callbacks. But the check for their availability is buggy, so changing the coalesce settings on a device where the driver provides only _one_ of the callbacks results in a NULL pointer dereference instead of an -EOPNOTSUPP. Fix the condition so that the availability of both callbacks is ensured. This also matches the netlink code. Note that reproducing this requires some effort - it only affects the legacy ioctl path, and needs a specific combination of driver options: - have .get_coalesce() and .coalesce_supported but no .set_coalesce(), or - have .set_coalesce() but no .get_coalesce(). Here eg. ethtool doesn't cause the crash as it first attempts to call ethtool_get_coalesce() and bails out on error.
The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.
An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may disrupt the affected service.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ethtool: ioctl: fix potential NULL deref in ethtool_set_coalesce() ethtool_set_coalesce() now uses both the .get_coalesce() and .set_coalesce() callbacks. But the check for their availability is buggy, so changing the coalesce settings on a device where the driver provides only _one_ of the callbacks results in a NULL pointer dereference instead of an -EOPNOTSUPP. Fix the condition so that the availability of both callbacks is ensured. This also matches the netlink code. Note that reproducing this requires some effort - it only affects the legacy ioctl path, and needs a specific combination of driver options: - have .get_coalesce() and .coalesce_supported but no .set_coalesce(), or - have .set_coalesce() but no .get_coalesce(). Here eg. ethtool doesn't cause the crash as it first attempts to call ethtool_get_coalesce() and bails out on error.
The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.
An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may disrupt the affected service.
CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.
No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.
No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.
CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference. The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HCommon Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.
Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.
Published 24 May 2024 · Last source change 11 May 2026, 13:56 UTC · CWE-476 · NULL Pointer Dereference
Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.
No material field changes have been recorded since change tracking began. Routine source refreshes and cosmetic edits are intentionally excluded.