Linux: Use After Free
CVE-2024-40899 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 99e9c5bd27ddefa0f9db88625bf5e31c1e833d62, a6de82765e12fb1201ab607f0d3ffe3309b30fc0, 1d902d9a3aa4f2a8bda698294e34be788be012fc 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 0.28% 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 99e9c5bd27ddefa0f9db88625bf5e31c1e833d62 or a6de82765e12fb1201ab607f0d3ffe3309b30fc0 or 1d902d9a3aa4f2a8bda698294e34be788be012fc or de3e26f9e5b76fc628077578c001c4a51bf54d06, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Linux Kernel to 6.9.6 or a later version.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | a0cc87f86698174aacc083c4652d2606007dd902 up to, but not including, 99e9c5bd27ddefa0f9db88625bf5e31c1e833d62; 9f5fa40f0924e9de85b16c6d1aea80327ce647d8 up to, but not including, a6de82765e12fb1201ab607f0d3ffe3309b30fc0; e73fa11a356ca0905c3cc648eaacc6f0f2d2c8b3 up to, but not including, 1d902d9a3aa4f2a8bda698294e34be788be012fc; e73fa11a356ca0905c3cc648eaacc6f0f2d2c8b3 up to, but not including, de3e26f9e5b76fc628077578c001c4a51bf54d06; 6.8 | 99e9c5bd27ddefa0f9db88625bf5e31c1e833d62, a6de82765e12fb1201ab607f0d3ffe3309b30fc0, 1d902d9a3aa4f2a8bda698294e34be788be012fc, de3e26f9e5b76fc628077578c001c4a51bf54d06 |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | 6.8 up to, but not including, 6.9.6; 6.10 | 6.9.6 |
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: cachefiles: fix slab-use-after-free in cachefiles_ondemand_get_fd() We got the following issue in a fuzz test of randomly issuing the restore command: ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in cachefiles_ondemand_daemon_read+0x609/0xab0 Write of size 4 at addr ffff888109164a80 by task ondemand-04-dae/4962 CPU: 11 PID: 4962 Comm: ondemand-04-dae Not tainted 6.8.0-rc7-dirty #542 Call Trace: kasan_report+0x94/0xc0 cachefiles_ondemand_daemon_read+0x609/0xab0 vfs_read+0x169/0xb50 ksys_read+0xf5/0x1e0 Allocated by task 626: __kmalloc+0x1df/0x4b0 cachefiles_ondemand_send_req+0x24d/0x690 cachefiles_create_tmpfile+0x249/0xb30 cachefiles_create_file+0x6f/0x140 cachefiles_look_up_object+0x29c/0xa60 cachefiles_lookup_cookie+0x37d/0xca0 fscache_cookie_state_machine+0x43c/0x1230 [...] Freed by task 626: kfree+0xf1/0x2c0 cachefiles_ondemand_send_req+0x568/0x690 cachefiles_create_tmpfile+0x249/0xb30 cachefiles_create_file+0x6f/0x140 cachefiles_look_up_object+0x29c/0xa60 cachefiles_lookup_cookie+0x37d/0xca0 fscache_cookie_state_machine+0x43c/0x1230 [...] ================================================================== Following is the process that triggers the issue: mount | daemon_thread1 | daemon_thread2 ------------------------------------------------------------ cachefiles_ondemand_init_object cachefiles_ondemand_send_req REQ_A = kzalloc(sizeof(*req) + data_len) wait_for_completion(&REQ_A->done) cachefiles_daemon_read cachefiles_ondemand_daemon_read REQ_A = cachefiles_ondemand_select_req cachefiles_ondemand_get_fd copy_to_user(_buffer, msg, n) process_open_req(REQ_A) ------ restore ------ cachefiles_ondemand_restore xas_for_each(&xas, req, ULONG_MAX) xas_set_mark(&xas, CACHEFILES_REQ_NEW); cachefiles_daemon_read cachefiles_ondemand_daemon_read REQ_A = cachefiles_ondemand_select_req write(devfd, ("copen %u,%llu", msg->msg_id, size)); cachefiles_ondemand_copen xa_erase(&cache->reqs, id) complete(&REQ_A->done) kfree(REQ_A) cachefiles_ondemand_get_fd(REQ_A) fd = get_unused_fd_flags file = anon_inode_getfile fd_install(fd, file) load = (void *)REQ_A->msg.data; load->fd = fd; // load UAF !!! This issue is caused by issuing a restore command when the daemon is still alive, which results in a request being processed multiple times thus triggering a UAF. So to avoid this problem, add an additional reference count to cachefiles_req, which is held while waiting and reading, and then released when the waiting and reading is over. Note that since there is only one reference count for waiting, we need to avoid the same request being completed multiple times, so we can only complete the request if it is successfully removed from the xarray.
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
Other references
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