Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2024-57798 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203); ranked at the 13th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-15 (Development Process, Standards, and Tools) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2024-57798 is a use-after-free and NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in the Linux kernel's Direct Rendering Manager (DRM) DisplayPort Multi-Stream Transport (DP MST) subsystem. The issue occurs in the drm_dp_mst_handle_up_req() function, where a race condition allows one thread to process an MST up request message while another thread removes the MST topology via drm_dp_mst_topology_mgr_set_mst(false). This frees the mst_primary structure and sets drm_dp_mst_topology_mgr::mst_primary to NULL, potentially leading to a NULL dereference or use-after-free when accessing mst_primary.
A local attacker with low privileges can exploit this vulnerability due to its low attack complexity and lack of user interaction requirements (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H). Successful exploitation could result in high-impact confidentiality, integrity, and availability violations, such as kernel crashes, data corruption, or arbitrary code execution through the use-after-free condition (CWE-416) or NULL pointer dereference (CWE-476).
Mitigation involves applying kernel patches that ensure a reference to mst_primary is held during its use in drm_dp_mst_handle_up_req(), with an additional fix in version 2 to handle kfreeing of the request if reference acquisition fails. Relevant stable kernel commits include 9735d40f5fde, ce55818b2d3a, e54b00086f74, and f61b2e5e7821, available via kernel.org. Debian LTS users should refer to the announcement at lists.debian.org for updated packages.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2024-53755
Vulnerability Data
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/dp_mst: Ensure mst_primary pointer is valid in drm_dp_mst_handle_up_req() While receiving an MST up request message from one thread in drm_dp_mst_handle_up_req(), the MST topology could be removed from another thread via…
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drm_dp_mst_topology_mgr_set_mst(false), freeing mst_primary and setting drm_dp_mst_topology_mgr::mst_primary to NULL. This could lead to a NULL deref/use-after-free of mst_primary in drm_dp_mst_handle_up_req(). Avoid the above by holding a reference for mst_primary in drm_dp_mst_handle_up_req() while it's used. v2: Fix kfreeing the request if getting an mst_primary reference fails.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 3 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
V1.4.3
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and evaluation can discover use-after-free bugs through dynamic analysis or fuzzing.
Documented development standards and tools can enforce null-safety rules and safe pointer usage.
Engineering principles can require memory-safe constructs or languages that structurally avoid introducing use-after-free.
Process isolation confines the blast radius of use-after-free memory corruption to a single execution domain.
Memory protection controls limit exploitation impact by blocking unauthorized code execution from dangling pointers.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure SDLC practices directly incorporate memory-safety tooling and reviews that prevent most use-after-free defects.
Vulnerability identification processes can discover use-after-free issues via scanning or analysis but do not prevent their introduction.
Routine patching removes known use-after-free instances after they have been introduced in released software.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing in development can detect use-after-free bugs before release.
Secure SDLC mandates memory-safety practices that reduce use-after-free defects.
Application security requirements can specify memory-management rules that mitigate use-after-free.
Secure architecture principles include memory-safety design choices that limit use-after-free exposure.
Secure coding standards directly prescribe avoidance of use-after-free patterns.
Change-management processes help ensure memory-safety fixes are deployed consistently.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
- V-248592 OL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
- V-230279 RHEL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 9 (1 rule)
- V-257794 RHEL 9 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416