Linux: Use After Free
CVE-2024-50226 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 3ecd2b229f5e42b36b5acf0e82510a70a632f041, 8e1b52c15c81106456437f8e49575040e489e355, 78c8454fdce0eeee962be004eb6d99860c80dad1 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 0.24% 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 3ecd2b229f5e42b36b5acf0e82510a70a632f041 or 8e1b52c15c81106456437f8e49575040e489e355 or 78c8454fdce0eeee962be004eb6d99860c80dad1 or 101c268bd2f37e965a5468353e62d154db38838e, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Linux Kernel to 6.6.60 or 6.11.7, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 176baefb2eb5d7a3ddebe3ff803db1fce44574b5 up to, but not including, 3ecd2b229f5e42b36b5acf0e82510a70a632f041; 176baefb2eb5d7a3ddebe3ff803db1fce44574b5 up to, but not including, 8e1b52c15c81106456437f8e49575040e489e355; 176baefb2eb5d7a3ddebe3ff803db1fce44574b5 up to, but not including, 78c8454fdce0eeee962be004eb6d99860c80dad1; 176baefb2eb5d7a3ddebe3ff803db1fce44574b5 up to, but not including, 101c268bd2f37e965a5468353e62d154db38838e; 6.0 | 3ecd2b229f5e42b36b5acf0e82510a70a632f041, 8e1b52c15c81106456437f8e49575040e489e355, 78c8454fdce0eeee962be004eb6d99860c80dad1, 101c268bd2f37e965a5468353e62d154db38838e |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | 6.0 up to, but not including, 6.6.60; 6.7 up to, but not including, 6.11.7; 6.12 | 6.6.60, 6.11.7 |
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.
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.8 | High | NVD |
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.8 | High | CISA (ADP) |
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cxl/port: Fix use-after-free, permit out-of-order decoder shutdown In support of investigating an initialization failure report [1], cxl_test was updated to register mock memory-devices after the mock root-port/bus device had been registered. That led to cxl_test crashing with a use-after-free bug with the following signature: cxl_port_attach_region: cxl region3: cxl_host_bridge.0:port3 decoder3.0 add: mem0:decoder7.0 @ 0 next: cxl_switch_uport.0 nr_eps: 1 nr_targets: 1 cxl_port_attach_region: cxl region3: cxl_host_bridge.0:port3 decoder3.0 add: mem4:decoder14.0 @ 1 next: cxl_switch_uport.0 nr_eps: 2 nr_targets: 1 cxl_port_setup_targets: cxl region3: cxl_switch_uport.0:port6 target[0] = cxl_switch_dport.0 for mem0:decoder7.0 @ 0 1) cxl_port_setup_targets: cxl region3: cxl_switch_uport.0:port6 target[1] = cxl_switch_dport.4 for mem4:decoder14.0 @ 1 [..] cxld_unregister: cxl decoder14.0: cxl_region_decode_reset: cxl_region region3: mock_decoder_reset: cxl_port port3: decoder3.0 reset 2) mock_decoder_reset: cxl_port port3: decoder3.0: out of order reset, expected decoder3.1 cxl_endpoint_decoder_release: cxl decoder14.0: [..] cxld_unregister: cxl decoder7.0: 3) cxl_region_decode_reset: cxl_region region3: Oops: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0x6b6b6b6b6b6b6bc3: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP PTI [..] RIP: 0010:to_cxl_port+0x8/0x60 [cxl_core] [..] Call Trace: <TASK> cxl_region_decode_reset+0x69/0x190 [cxl_core] cxl_region_detach+0xe8/0x210 [cxl_core] cxl_decoder_kill_region+0x27/0x40 [cxl_core] cxld_unregister+0x5d/0x60 [cxl_core] At 1) a region has been established with 2 endpoint decoders (7.0 and 14.0). Those endpoints share a common switch-decoder in the topology (3.0). At teardown, 2), decoder14.0 is the first to be removed and hits the "out of order reset case" in the switch decoder. The effect though is that region3 cleanup is aborted leaving it in-tact and referencing decoder14.0. At 3) the second attempt to teardown region3 trips over the stale decoder14.0 object which has long since been deleted. The fix here is to recognize that the CXL specification places no mandate on in-order shutdown of switch-decoders, the driver enforces in-order allocation, and hardware enforces in-order commit. So, rather than fail and leave objects dangling, always remove them. In support of making cxl_region_decode_reset() always succeed, cxl_region_invalidate_memregion() failures are turned into warnings. Crashing the kernel is ok there since system integrity is at risk if caches cannot be managed around physical address mutation events like CXL region destruction. A new device_for_each_child_reverse_from() is added to cleanup port->commit_end after all dependent decoders have been disabled. In other words if decoders are allocated 0->1->2 and disabled 1->2->0 then port->commit_end only decrements from 2 after 2 has been disabled, and it decrements all the way to zero since 1 was disabled previously.
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: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Patches and release notes
Other references
Recent Use After Free vulnerabilities
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