LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2024-40960: ipv6: prevent possible NULL dereference in rt6_probe()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv6: prevent possible NULL dereference in rt6_probe() syzbot caught a NULL dereference in rt6_probe() [1] Bail out if __in6_dev_get() returns NULL. [1] Oops: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0xdffffc00000000cb: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP KASAN PTI KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000658-0x000000000000065f] CPU: 1 PID: 22444 Comm: syz-executor.0 Not tainted 6.10.0-rc2-syzkaller-00383-gb8481381d4e2 #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 04/02/2024 RIP: 0010:rt6_probe net/ipv6/route.c:656 [inline] RIP: 0010:find_match+0x8c4/0xf50 net/ipv6/route.c:758 Code: 14 fd f7 48 8b 85 38 ff ff ff 48 c7 45 b0 00 00 00 00 48 8d b8 5c 06 00 00 48 b8 00 00 00 00 00 fc ff df 48 89 fa 48 c1 ea 03 <0f> b6 14 02 48 89 f8 83 e0 07 83 c0 03 38 d0 7c 08 84 d2 0f 85 19 RSP: 0018:ffffc900034af070 EFLAGS: 00010203 RAX: dffffc0000000000 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: ffffc90004521000 RDX: 00000000000000cb RSI: ffffffff8990d0cd RDI: 000000000000065c RBP: ffffc900034af150 R08: 0000000000000005 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000001 R11: 0000000000000002 R12: 000000000000000a R13: 1ffff92000695e18 R14: ffff8880244a1d20 R15: 0000000000000000 FS: 00007f4844a5a6c0(0000) GS:ffff8880b9300000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000001b31b27000 CR3: 000000002d42c000 CR4: 00000000003506f0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: <TASK> rt6_nh_find_match+0xfa/0x1a0 net/ipv6/route.c:784 nexthop_for_each_fib6_nh+0x26d/0x4a0 net/ipv4/nexthop.c:1496 __find_rr_leaf+0x6e7/0xe00 net/ipv6/route.c:825 find_rr_leaf net/ipv6/route.c:853 [inline] rt6_select net/ipv6/route.c:897 [inline] fib6_table_lookup+0x57e/0xa30 net/ipv6/route.c:2195 ip6_pol_route+0x1cd/0x1150 net/ipv6/route.c:2231 pol_lookup_func include/net/ip6_fib.h:616 [inline] fib6_rule_lookup+0x386/0x720 net/ipv6/fib6_rules.c:121 ip6_route_output_flags_noref net/ipv6/route.c:2639 [inline] ip6_route_output_flags+0x1d0/0x640 net/ipv6/route.c:2651 ip6_dst_lookup_tail.constprop.0+0x961/0x1760 net/ipv6/ip6_output.c:1147 ip6_dst_lookup_flow+0x99/0x1d0 net/ipv6/ip6_output.c:1250 rawv6_sendmsg+0xdab/0x4340 net/ipv6/raw.c:898 inet_sendmsg+0x119/0x140 net/ipv4/af_inet.c:853 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:730 [inline] __sock_sendmsg net/socket.c:745 [inline] sock_write_iter+0x4b8/0x5c0 net/socket.c:1160 new_sync_write fs/read_write.c:497 [inline] vfs_write+0x6b6/0x1140 fs/read_write.c:590 ksys_write+0x1f8/0x260 fs/read_write.c:643 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:52 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xcd/0x250 arch/x86/entry/common.c:83 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2024-40960 is a Linux kernel IPv6 routing bug where a missing NULL check can crash kernel code. The public record shows it was found by syzbot and fixed in stable kernel commits. Sources do not show data theft, privilege escalation, or active exploitation.

Executive priority

Patch during the next prioritized kernel maintenance window, faster for critical network infrastructure and appliances. There is no sourced evidence of active exploitation, but kernel crashes can create meaningful service disruption.

Technical view

The flaw is a possible NULL pointer dereference in net/ipv6/route.c rt6_probe(). If __in6_dev_get() returns NULL, the vulnerable code can dereference it during IPv6 route lookup. The upstream fix bails out on NULL.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely on systems running affected Linux kernel builds with IPv6 networking paths reachable. The source lists affected Linux versions and stable commit references, but does not establish remote exploitability or product-specific reachability beyond referenced vendor advisories.

Exploitation context

KEV is false, and the provided sources do not cite exploitation in the wild. The crash was reported by syzbot on a 6.10 release candidate. Treat this primarily as an availability risk unless vendor guidance states otherwise.

Researcher notes

The record lacks CVSS, CWE, and exploitability detail. Analysis should stay close to the kernel fix: a defensive NULL check in rt6_probe(). Further severity depends on trigger conditions, kernel configuration, IPv6 use, and vendor backport status.

Mitigation direction

  • Update affected Linux kernels to vendor-fixed releases containing the stable commit fixes.
  • Apply relevant distribution updates, including Debian LTS guidance where applicable.
  • For Siemens-managed products, follow the cited Siemens ProductCERT advisories.
  • Track appliance and embedded vendor firmware updates using CVE-2024-40960 references.
  • Do not assume a workaround unless the vendor explicitly documents one.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux kernel versions across servers, appliances, containers hosts, and embedded systems.
  • Check package changelogs or vendor advisories for CVE-2024-40960 or cited stable commits.
  • Identify systems with IPv6 enabled and business-critical network availability requirements.
  • Review crash logs for rt6_probe, find_match, fib6_table_lookup, or rawv6_sendmsg signatures.
  • Confirm vendor firmware status for Siemens products named in the advisories.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
12

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2024-40960 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
3ADP providers
13Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: noneAutomatable: noTechnical Impact: partial

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CVECVE Program Container
CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
other:ssvc
siemens-SADPADP container

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux52e1635631b342803aecaf81a362c1464e3da2e5, 52e1635631b342803aecaf81a362c1464e3da2e5, 52e1635631b342803aecaf81a362c1464e3da2e5, 52e1635631b342803aecaf81a362c1464e3da2e5, 52e1635631b342803aecaf81a362c1464e3da2e5, 52e1635631b342803aecaf81a362c1464e3da2e5, 52e1635631b342803aecaf81a362c1464e3da2e5, 52e1635631b342803aecaf81a362c1464e3da2e5unaffected
LinuxLinux2.6.17, 0, 4.19.317, 5.4.279, 5.10.221, 5.15.162, 6.1.96, 6.6.36, 6.9.7, 6.10affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.