CVE-2025-21744 - NULL Pointer Dereference

Severity

55%

Complexity

18%

Confidentiality

60%

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: brcmfmac: fix NULL pointer dereference in brcmf_txfinalize() On removal of the device or unloading of the kernel module a potential NULL pointer dereference occurs. The following sequence deletes the interface: brcmf_detach() brcmf_remove_interface() brcmf_del_if() Inside the brcmf_del_if() function the drvr->if2bss[ifidx] is updated to BRCMF_BSSIDX_INVALID (-1) if the bsscfgidx matches. After brcmf_remove_interface() call the brcmf_proto_detach() function is called providing the following sequence: brcmf_detach() brcmf_proto_detach() brcmf_proto_msgbuf_detach() brcmf_flowring_detach() brcmf_msgbuf_delete_flowring() brcmf_msgbuf_remove_flowring() brcmf_flowring_delete() brcmf_get_ifp() brcmf_txfinalize() Since brcmf_get_ip() can and actually will return NULL in this case the call to brcmf_txfinalize() will result in a NULL pointer dereference inside brcmf_txfinalize() when trying to update ifp->ndev->stats.tx_errors. This will only happen if a flowring still has an skb. Although the NULL pointer dereference has only been seen when trying to update the tx statistic, all other uses of the ifp pointer have been guarded as well with an early return if ifp is NULL.

CVSS 3.1 Base Score 5.5. CVSS Attack Vector: local. CVSS Attack Complexity: low. CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

Demo Examples

NULL Pointer Dereference

CWE-476

While there are no complete fixes aside from conscientious programming, the following steps will go a long way to ensure that NULL pointer dereferences do not occur.


               
}
/* make use of pointer1 *//* ... */

If you are working with a multithreaded or otherwise asynchronous environment, ensure that proper locking APIs are used to lock before the if statement; and unlock when it has finished.

NULL Pointer Dereference

CWE-476

This example takes an IP address from a user, verifies that it is well formed and then looks up the hostname and copies it into a buffer.


               
}
strcpy(hostname, hp->h_name);/*routine that ensures user_supplied_addr is in the right format for conversion */

If an attacker provides an address that appears to be well-formed, but the address does not resolve to a hostname, then the call to gethostbyaddr() will return NULL. Since the code does not check the return value from gethostbyaddr (CWE-252), a NULL pointer dereference would then occur in the call to strcpy().

Note that this example is also vulnerable to a buffer overflow (see CWE-119).

NULL Pointer Dereference

CWE-476

In the following code, the programmer assumes that the system always has a property named "cmd" defined. If an attacker can control the program's environment so that "cmd" is not defined, the program throws a NULL pointer exception when it attempts to call the trim() method.


               
cmd = cmd.trim();

NULL Pointer Dereference

CWE-476

This application has registered to handle a URL when sent an intent:


               
}......
}
}
int length = URL.length();
...

The application assumes the URL will always be included in the intent. When the URL is not present, the call to getStringExtra() will return null, thus causing a null pointer exception when length() is called.

Stay updated

ExploitPedia is constantly evolving. Sign up to receive a notification when we release additional functionality.

Get in touch

If you'd like to report a bug or have any suggestions for improvements then please do get in touch with us using this form. We will get back to you as soon as we can.