Kernel crash via unchecked clock-name allocation
Published Dec 24, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in the Linux Apple NCO clock driver allows local users to crash the kernel during device probing. During applnco_probe, devm_kasprintf can return NULL for the per-channel clock name, but the driver passes that pointer into clock registration without checking it. Reachability requires a Linux system using the NCO block on an Apple SoC and a failed kernel allocation; the consequence is loss of availability without data disclosure or modification.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in the Linux Apple NCO clock driver allows local users to crash the kernel during device probing. During applnco_probe, devm_kasprintf can return NULL for the per-channel clock name, but the driver passes that pointer into clock registration without checking it. Reachability requires a Linux system using the NCO block on an Apple SoC and a failed kernel allocation; the consequence is loss of availability without data disclosure or modification.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-53154
- Published
- Dec 24, 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
- Dec 24, 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=5.18
- Affected versionversion=6641057d5dba87338780cf3e0d0ae8389ef1125c <066c14619e8379c1bafbbf8196fd38eac303472b
- Affected versionversion=6641057d5dba87338780cf3e0d0ae8389ef1125c <534e02f83889ccef5fe6beb46e773ab9d4ae1655
- Affected versionversion=6641057d5dba87338780cf3e0d0ae8389ef1125c <72ea9a7e9e260aa39f9d1c9254cf92adfb05c4f5
- Affected versionversion=6641057d5dba87338780cf3e0d0ae8389ef1125c <969c765e2b508cca9099d246c010a1e48dcfd089
- Affected versionversion=6641057d5dba87338780cf3e0d0ae8389ef1125c <9a5905b725739af6a105f9e564e7c80d69969d2b
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
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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