Kernel crash via unprobed thermal sensor dereference
Published Apr 10, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in affected Linux kernel releases allows local users to crash the kernel through a thermal-zone sysfs write. The of_thermal accessors dereference sensor data when a thermal zone consumes a sensor whose device has not yet probed. Local write access to trip_point_0_temp and the unprobed-sensor state are required; the reported consequence is an availability-only kernel crash.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in affected Linux kernel releases allows local users to crash the kernel through a thermal-zone sysfs write. The of_thermal accessors dereference sensor data when a thermal zone consumes a sensor whose device has not yet probed. Local write access to trip_point_0_temp and the unprobed-sensor state are required; the reported consequence is an availability-only kernel crash.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-47202
- Published
- Apr 10, 2024
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-476, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Apr 10, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=2251aef64a38db60f4ae7a4a83f9203c6791f196 <0750f769b95841b34a9fe8c418dd792ff526bf86
- Affected versionversion=2251aef64a38db60f4ae7a4a83f9203c6791f196 <6a315471cb6a07f651e1d3adc8962730f4fcccac
- Affected versionversion=2251aef64a38db60f4ae7a4a83f9203c6791f196 <828f4c31684da94ecf0b44a2cbd35bbede04f0bd
- Affected versionversion=2251aef64a38db60f4ae7a4a83f9203c6791f196 <96cfe05051fd8543cdedd6807ec59a0e6c409195
- Affected versionversion=2251aef64a38db60f4ae7a4a83f9203c6791f196 <ef2590a5305e0b8e9342f84c2214aa478ee7f28e
- Affected versionversion=3.19
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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