CVE-2024-57981: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: usb: xhci: Fix NULL pointer dereference on certain command aborts If a command is queued t

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: usb: xhci: Fix NULL pointer dereference on certain command aborts If a command is queued t

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: usb: xhci: Fix NULL pointer dereference on certain command aborts If a command is queued to the final usable TRB of a ring segment, the enqueue pointer is advanced to the subsequent link TRB and no further. If the command is later aborted, when the abort completion is handled the dequeue pointer is advanced to the first TRB of the next segment. If no further commands are queued, xhci_handle_stopped_cmd_ring() sees the ring pointers unequal and assumes that there is a pending command, so it calls xhci_mod_cmd_timer() which crashes if cur_cmd was NULL. Don't attempt timer setup if cur_cmd is NULL. The subsequent doorbell ring likely is unnecessary too, but it's harmless. Leave it alone. This is probably Bug 219532, but no confirmation has been received. The issue has been independently reproduced and confirmed fixed using a USB MCU programmed to NAK the Status stage of SET_ADDRESS forever. Everything continued working normally after several prevented crashes.

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.27%, higher than 19% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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