Linux: Use After Free
CVE-2024-53168 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 7d44f706c6f1d89bcec901aa0da9067815803baf, 0ca87e5063757132a044d35baba40a7d4bb25394, 694ccb05b79ee5f5a9f14c2f80d2635d3bb8bdc3 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 0.25% 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 7d44f706c6f1d89bcec901aa0da9067815803baf or 0ca87e5063757132a044d35baba40a7d4bb25394 or 694ccb05b79ee5f5a9f14c2f80d2635d3bb8bdc3 or 61c0a5eac96836de5e3a5897eccdc63162a94936, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Linux Kernel to 6.6.64 or 6.11.11 or 6.12.2, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 26abe14379f8e2fa3fd1bcf97c9a7ad9364886fe up to, but not including, 7d44f706c6f1d89bcec901aa0da9067815803baf; 26abe14379f8e2fa3fd1bcf97c9a7ad9364886fe up to, but not including, 0ca87e5063757132a044d35baba40a7d4bb25394; 26abe14379f8e2fa3fd1bcf97c9a7ad9364886fe up to, but not including, 694ccb05b79ee5f5a9f14c2f80d2635d3bb8bdc3; 26abe14379f8e2fa3fd1bcf97c9a7ad9364886fe up to, but not including, 61c0a5eac96836de5e3a5897eccdc63162a94936; 26abe14379f8e2fa3fd1bcf97c9a7ad9364886fe up to, but not including, 3f23f96528e8fcf8619895c4c916c52653892ec1; 4.2 | 7d44f706c6f1d89bcec901aa0da9067815803baf, 0ca87e5063757132a044d35baba40a7d4bb25394, 694ccb05b79ee5f5a9f14c2f80d2635d3bb8bdc3, 61c0a5eac96836de5e3a5897eccdc63162a94936, 3f23f96528e8fcf8619895c4c916c52653892ec1 |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | 4.2 up to, but not including, 6.6.64; 6.7 up to, but not including, 6.11.11; 6.12 up to, but not including, 6.12.2 | 6.6.64, 6.11.11, 6.12.2 |
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 | CNA |
| 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: sunrpc: fix one UAF issue caused by sunrpc kernel tcp socket BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in tcp_write_timer_handler+0x156/0x3e0 Read of size 1 at addr ffff888111f322cd by task swapper/0/0 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/0 Not tainted 6.12.0-rc4-dirty #7 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.15.0-1 Call Trace: <IRQ> dump_stack_lvl+0x68/0xa0 print_address_description.constprop.0+0x2c/0x3d0 print_report+0xb4/0x270 kasan_report+0xbd/0xf0 tcp_write_timer_handler+0x156/0x3e0 tcp_write_timer+0x66/0x170 call_timer_fn+0xfb/0x1d0 __run_timers+0x3f8/0x480 run_timer_softirq+0x9b/0x100 handle_softirqs+0x153/0x390 __irq_exit_rcu+0x103/0x120 irq_exit_rcu+0xe/0x20 sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt+0x76/0x90 </IRQ> <TASK> asm_sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt+0x1a/0x20 RIP: 0010:default_idle+0xf/0x20 Code: 4c 01 c7 4c 29 c2 e9 72 ff ff ff 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 f3 0f 1e fa 66 90 0f 00 2d 33 f8 25 00 fb f4 <fa> c3 cc cc cc cc 66 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 90 90 90 90 90 RSP: 0018:ffffffffa2007e28 EFLAGS: 00000242 RAX: 00000000000f3b31 RBX: 1ffffffff4400fc7 RCX: ffffffffa09c3196 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: ffffffff9f00590f RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: ffffed102360835d R10: ffff88811b041aeb R11: 0000000000000001 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: ffffffffa202d7c0 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: 00000000000147d0 default_idle_call+0x6b/0xa0 cpuidle_idle_call+0x1af/0x1f0 do_idle+0xbc/0x130 cpu_startup_entry+0x33/0x40 rest_init+0x11f/0x210 start_kernel+0x39a/0x420 x86_64_start_reservations+0x18/0x30 x86_64_start_kernel+0x97/0xa0 common_startup_64+0x13e/0x141 </TASK> Allocated by task 595: kasan_save_stack+0x24/0x50 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 __kasan_slab_alloc+0x87/0x90 kmem_cache_alloc_noprof+0x12b/0x3f0 copy_net_ns+0x94/0x380 create_new_namespaces+0x24c/0x500 unshare_nsproxy_namespaces+0x75/0xf0 ksys_unshare+0x24e/0x4f0 __x64_sys_unshare+0x1f/0x30 do_syscall_64+0x70/0x180 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e Freed by task 100: kasan_save_stack+0x24/0x50 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 kasan_save_free_info+0x3b/0x60 __kasan_slab_free+0x54/0x70 kmem_cache_free+0x156/0x5d0 cleanup_net+0x5d3/0x670 process_one_work+0x776/0xa90 worker_thread+0x2e2/0x560 kthread+0x1a8/0x1f0 ret_from_fork+0x34/0x60 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 Reproduction script: mkdir -p /mnt/nfsshare mkdir -p /mnt/nfs/netns_1 mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdb mount /dev/sdb /mnt/nfsshare systemctl restart nfs-server chmod 777 /mnt/nfsshare exportfs -i -o rw,no_root_squash *:/mnt/nfsshare ip netns add netns_1 ip link add name veth_1_peer type veth peer veth_1 ifconfig veth_1_peer 11.11.0.254 up ip link set veth_1 netns netns_1 ip netns exec netns_1 ifconfig veth_1 11.11.0.1 ip netns exec netns_1 /root/iptables -A OUTPUT -d 11.11.0.254 -p tcp \ --tcp-flags FIN FIN -j DROP (note: In my environment, a DESTROY_CLIENTID operation is always sent immediately, breaking the nfs tcp connection.) ip netns exec netns_1 timeout -s 9 300 mount -t nfs -o proto=tcp,vers=4.1 \ 11.11.0.254:/mnt/nfsshare /mnt/nfs/netns_1 ip netns del netns_1 The reason here is that the tcp socket in netns_1 (nfs side) has been shutdown and closed (done in xs_destroy), but the FIN message (with ack) is discarded, and the nfsd side keeps sending retransmission messages. As a result, when the tcp sock in netns_1 processes the received message, it sends the message (FIN message) in the sending queue, and the tcp timer is re-established. When the network namespace is deleted, the net structure accessed by tcp's timer handler function causes problems. To fix this problem, let's hold netns refcnt for the tcp kernel socket as done in other modules. This is an ugly hack which can easily be backported to earlier kernels. A proper fix which cleans up the interfaces will follow, but may not be so easy to backport.
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
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