Linux: Use After Free
CVE-2024-26616 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 642b9c520ef2f104277ad1f902f8526edbe087fb, 34de0f04684ec00c093a0455648be055f0e8e24f, f546c4282673497a06ecb6190b50ae7f6c85b02f as the first without the flaw, so updating Linux to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.29% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Linux to 642b9c520ef2f104277ad1f902f8526edbe087fb or 34de0f04684ec00c093a0455648be055f0e8e24f or f546c4282673497a06ecb6190b50ae7f6c85b02f, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Linux Kernel to 6.6.15 or 6.7.3, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | e02ee89baa66c40e1002cf8b09141fce7265e0f5 up to, but not including, 642b9c520ef2f104277ad1f902f8526edbe087fb; e02ee89baa66c40e1002cf8b09141fce7265e0f5 up to, but not including, 34de0f04684ec00c093a0455648be055f0e8e24f; e02ee89baa66c40e1002cf8b09141fce7265e0f5 up to, but not including, f546c4282673497a06ecb6190b50ae7f6c85b02f; 6.4 | 642b9c520ef2f104277ad1f902f8526edbe087fb, 34de0f04684ec00c093a0455648be055f0e8e24f, f546c4282673497a06ecb6190b50ae7f6c85b02f |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | 6.4 up to, but not including, 6.6.15; 6.7 up to, but not including, 6.7.3; 6.8 | 6.6.15, 6.7.3 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: scrub: avoid use-after-free when chunk length is not 64K aligned [BUG] There is a bug report that, on a ext4-converted btrfs, scrub leads to various problems, including: - "unable to find chunk map" errors BTRFS info (device vdb): scrub: started on devid 1 BTRFS critical (device vdb): unable to find chunk map for logical 2214744064 length 4096 BTRFS critical (device vdb): unable to find chunk map for logical 2214744064 length 45056 This would lead to unrepariable errors. - Use-after-free KASAN reports: ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in __blk_rq_map_sg+0x18f/0x7c0 Read of size 8 at addr ffff8881013c9040 by task btrfs/909 CPU: 0 PID: 909 Comm: btrfs Not tainted 6.7.0-x64v3-dbg #11 c50636e9419a8354555555245df535e380563b2b Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 2023.11-2 12/24/2023 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x43/0x60 print_report+0xcf/0x640 kasan_report+0xa6/0xd0 __blk_rq_map_sg+0x18f/0x7c0 virtblk_prep_rq.isra.0+0x215/0x6a0 [virtio_blk 19a65eeee9ae6fcf02edfad39bb9ddee07dcdaff] virtio_queue_rqs+0xc4/0x310 [virtio_blk 19a65eeee9ae6fcf02edfad39bb9ddee07dcdaff] blk_mq_flush_plug_list.part.0+0x780/0x860 __blk_flush_plug+0x1ba/0x220 blk_finish_plug+0x3b/0x60 submit_initial_group_read+0x10a/0x290 [btrfs e57987a360bed82fe8756dcd3e0de5406ccfe965] flush_scrub_stripes+0x38e/0x430 [btrfs e57987a360bed82fe8756dcd3e0de5406ccfe965] scrub_stripe+0x82a/0xae0 [btrfs e57987a360bed82fe8756dcd3e0de5406ccfe965] scrub_chunk+0x178/0x200 [btrfs e57987a360bed82fe8756dcd3e0de5406ccfe965] scrub_enumerate_chunks+0x4bc/0xa30 [btrfs e57987a360bed82fe8756dcd3e0de5406ccfe965] btrfs_scrub_dev+0x398/0x810 [btrfs e57987a360bed82fe8756dcd3e0de5406ccfe965] btrfs_ioctl+0x4b9/0x3020 [btrfs e57987a360bed82fe8756dcd3e0de5406ccfe965] __x64_sys_ioctl+0xbd/0x100 do_syscall_64+0x5d/0xe0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0x6b RIP: 0033:0x7f47e5e0952b - Crash, mostly due to above use-after-free [CAUSE] The converted fs has the following data chunk layout: item 2 key (FIRST_CHUNK_TREE CHUNK_ITEM 2214658048) itemoff 16025 itemsize 80 length 86016 owner 2 stripe_len 65536 type DATA|single For above logical bytenr 2214744064, it's at the chunk end (2214658048 + 86016 = 2214744064). This means btrfs_submit_bio() would split the bio, and trigger endio function for both of the two halves. However scrub_submit_initial_read() would only expect the endio function to be called once, not any more. This means the first endio function would already free the bbio::bio, leaving the bvec freed, thus the 2nd endio call would lead to use-after-free. [FIX] - Make sure scrub_read_endio() only updates bits in its range Since we may read less than 64K at the end of the chunk, we should not touch the bits beyond chunk boundary. - Make sure scrub_submit_initial_read() only to read the chunk range This is done by calculating the real number of sectors we need to read, and add sector-by-sector to the bio. Thankfully the scrub read repair path won't need extra fixes: - scrub_stripe_submit_repair_read() With above fixes, we won't update error bit for range beyond chunk, thus scrub_stripe_submit_repair_read() should never submit any read beyond the chunk.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Use After Free
The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory belongs to the code that operates on the new pointer.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
- When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: partial).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Patches and release notes
Recent Use After Free vulnerabilities
- 8.4 High severity
- 8.4 High severity
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- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 9.1 Critical severity
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