Kernel crash via uninitialized Bluetooth ISO anchor
Published Dec 27, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in the MediaTek Bluetooth USB driver in Linux allows local users to crash the kernel during device setup. btusb_mtk_claim_iso_intf fails to initialize isopkt_anchor when claiming the ISO interface, so disconnect cleanup passes the uninitialized anchor to usb_kill_anchored_urbs. Reachability requires low-privileged local access and an unexpected MediaTek Bluetooth USB disconnect during setup; the resulting impact is a kernel crash.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in the MediaTek Bluetooth USB driver in Linux allows local users to crash the kernel during device setup. btusb_mtk_claim_iso_intf fails to initialize isopkt_anchor when claiming the ISO interface, so disconnect cleanup passes the uninitialized anchor to usb_kill_anchored_urbs. Reachability requires low-privileged local access and an unexpected MediaTek Bluetooth USB disconnect during setup; the resulting impact is a kernel crash.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-53238
- Published
- Dec 27, 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 27, 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=6.11
- Affected versionversion=ceac1cb0259de682d78f5c784ef8e0b13022e9d9 <1219c211ccd061cde002cc5708692efca515a7a0
- Affected versionversion=ceac1cb0259de682d78f5c784ef8e0b13022e9d9 <61c5a3def90ac729a538e5ca5ff7f461cff72776
- Affected versionversion=ceac1cb0259de682d78f5c784ef8e0b13022e9d9 <d8bd79f0eea9c07d90ce870a714ab5c10afaa4b3
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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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