CVE-2024-49857

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's iwlwifi driver. Specifically, the mvm module does not correctly initialize a cipher pointer when handling secured Neighbor Discovery Protocol (NDP) ranging. A local attacker could exploit this vulnerability to cause a NULL pointer dereference, leading to a system crash and a Denial of Service (DoS).

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.

To mitigate this issue, prevent the iwlwifi kernel module from loading. This will disable Wi-Fi functionality for Intel wireless adapters.

1. Create a blacklist file for the iwlwifi module:

echo "blacklist iwlwifi" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi-blacklist.conf

2. Rebuild the initial RAM disk to apply the blacklist:

sudo dracut -f
# For older systems, use:
# sudo mkinitrd -f -v /boot/initramfs-$(uname -r).img $(uname -r)

3. Reboot the system for the changes to take effect.

Warning: Disabling the iwlwifi module will prevent the use of Intel wireless adapters and may impact network connectivity if Wi-Fi is the primary interface.