CVE-2024-53120: Linux kernel · NULL Pointer Dereference
Source GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium.
Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 15:53 UTC
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 2 Dec 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 30 Oct 2026.
What to do
AI-suggested
The vulnerability has been fixed in the Linux kernel source by correcting the error flow to use the properly initialized pointer. Although no explicit patch links are provided, users should update to the latest Linux kernel versions containing this fix. No additional mitigation is indicated.
Description
CVE-2024-53120 is a medium severity vulnerability in the Linux kernel's mlx5_core driver. It involves a null pointer dereference in the error handling flow of the mlx5_tc_ct_entry_add_rule() function when adding a connection tracking rule. This occurs because an uninitialized pointer is used after a failed callback, leading to a kernel crash (NULL pointer dereference).
References
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-53120 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/06dc488a593020bd2f006798557d2a32104d8359 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/0c7c70ff8b696cfedba350411dca736361ef9a0f (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/6030f8bd7902e9e276a0edc09bf11979e4e2bc2e (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/882f392d9e3649557e71efd78ae20c86039ffb7c (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/e99c6873229fe0482e7ceb7d5600e32d623ed9d9 (opens in a new tab)
- lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/01/msg00001.html (opens in a new tab)