Local kernel crash via unchecked allocation failure
Published Feb 27, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel 6.9 allows local users to crash the kernel during Broadcom Bluetooth device setup. btbcm_get_board_name() passes the unchecked NULL result of devm_kstrdup() to strreplace() after memory allocation fails. Reachability requires the btbcm driver, a device-tree compatible string, and an allocation failure; the resulting NULL dereference interrupts the host.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel 6.9 allows local users to crash the kernel during Broadcom Bluetooth device setup. btbcm_get_board_name() passes the unchecked NULL result of devm_kstrdup() to strreplace() after memory allocation fails. Reachability requires the btbcm driver, a device-tree compatible string, and an allocation failure; the resulting NULL dereference interrupts the host.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-57988
- Published
- Feb 27, 2025
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-476, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Feb 27, 2025CVE 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=6.9
- Affected versionversion=f9183eaad91521ba1c04a19e5606ae61560a735e <74af8b9d0e79deefd2d43e14b84575839a849169
- Affected versionversion=f9183eaad91521ba1c04a19e5606ae61560a735e <b88655bc6593c6a7fdc1248b212d17e581c4334e
- Affected versionversion=f9183eaad91521ba1c04a19e5606ae61560a735e <df2f2d9199e61819cca5da0121dfa4d4cb57000f
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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