Linux: Use After Free
CVE-2024-53177 is a critical-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 791f833053578b9fd24252ebb7162a61bc3f805b, 97e2afcac0bebfef6a5360f4267ce4c44507b845, 47655a12c6b1bca8fa230085eab2e85a076932b7 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 0.55% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.
What to do
- Update Linux to 791f833053578b9fd24252ebb7162a61bc3f805b or 97e2afcac0bebfef6a5360f4267ce4c44507b845 or 47655a12c6b1bca8fa230085eab2e85a076932b7 or a9685b409a03b73d2980bbfa53eb47555802d0a9, 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.
- Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 93877b9afc2994c89362007aac480a7b150f386f up to, but not including, 791f833053578b9fd24252ebb7162a61bc3f805b; 5c86919455c1edec99ebd3338ad213b59271a71b up to, but not including, 97e2afcac0bebfef6a5360f4267ce4c44507b845; 5c86919455c1edec99ebd3338ad213b59271a71b up to, but not including, 47655a12c6b1bca8fa230085eab2e85a076932b7; 5c86919455c1edec99ebd3338ad213b59271a71b up to, but not including, a9685b409a03b73d2980bbfa53eb47555802d0a9; 06c106e1e8568e840c946cc0222579e3d29dab8e; 6db94d08359c43f2c8fe372811cdee04564a41b9; 6.6.3 up to, but not including, 6.6.64; 6.1.191 up to, but not including, 6.2; and 2 more ranges | 791f833053578b9fd24252ebb7162a61bc3f805b, 97e2afcac0bebfef6a5360f4267ce4c44507b845, 47655a12c6b1bca8fa230085eab2e85a076932b7, a9685b409a03b73d2980bbfa53eb47555802d0a9, 6.6.64, 6.2 |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | before 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
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- 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:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA.
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 9.8 | Critical | CNA |
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.8 | High | CISA (ADP) |
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smb: prevent use-after-free due to open_cached_dir error paths If open_cached_dir() encounters an error parsing the lease from the server, the error handling may race with receiving a lease break, resulting in open_cached_dir() freeing the cfid while the queued work is pending. Update open_cached_dir() to drop refs rather than directly freeing the cfid. Have cached_dir_lease_break(), cfids_laundromat_worker(), and invalidate_all_cached_dirs() clear has_lease immediately while still holding cfids->cfid_list_lock, and then use this to also simplify the reference counting in cfids_laundromat_worker() and invalidate_all_cached_dirs(). Fixes this KASAN splat (which manually injects an error and lease break in open_cached_dir()): ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in smb2_cached_lease_break+0x27/0xb0 Read of size 8 at addr ffff88811cc24c10 by task kworker/3:1/65 CPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 65 Comm: kworker/3:1 Not tainted 6.12.0-rc6-g255cf264e6e5-dirty #87 Hardware name: VMware, Inc. VMware Virtual Platform/440BX Desktop Reference Platform, BIOS 6.00 11/12/2020 Workqueue: cifsiod smb2_cached_lease_break Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x77/0xb0 print_report+0xce/0x660 kasan_report+0xd3/0x110 smb2_cached_lease_break+0x27/0xb0 process_one_work+0x50a/0xc50 worker_thread+0x2ba/0x530 kthread+0x17c/0x1c0 ret_from_fork+0x34/0x60 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 </TASK> Allocated by task 2464: kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 __kasan_kmalloc+0xaa/0xb0 open_cached_dir+0xa7d/0x1fb0 smb2_query_path_info+0x43c/0x6e0 cifs_get_fattr+0x346/0xf10 cifs_get_inode_info+0x157/0x210 cifs_revalidate_dentry_attr+0x2d1/0x460 cifs_getattr+0x173/0x470 vfs_statx_path+0x10f/0x160 vfs_statx+0xe9/0x150 vfs_fstatat+0x5e/0xc0 __do_sys_newfstatat+0x91/0xf0 do_syscall_64+0x95/0x1a0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e Freed by task 2464: kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 kasan_save_free_info+0x3b/0x60 __kasan_slab_free+0x51/0x70 kfree+0x174/0x520 open_cached_dir+0x97f/0x1fb0 smb2_query_path_info+0x43c/0x6e0 cifs_get_fattr+0x346/0xf10 cifs_get_inode_info+0x157/0x210 cifs_revalidate_dentry_attr+0x2d1/0x460 cifs_getattr+0x173/0x470 vfs_statx_path+0x10f/0x160 vfs_statx+0xe9/0x150 vfs_fstatat+0x5e/0xc0 __do_sys_newfstatat+0x91/0xf0 do_syscall_64+0x95/0x1a0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e Last potentially related work creation: kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60 __kasan_record_aux_stack+0xad/0xc0 insert_work+0x32/0x100 __queue_work+0x5c9/0x870 queue_work_on+0x82/0x90 open_cached_dir+0x1369/0x1fb0 smb2_query_path_info+0x43c/0x6e0 cifs_get_fattr+0x346/0xf10 cifs_get_inode_info+0x157/0x210 cifs_revalidate_dentry_attr+0x2d1/0x460 cifs_getattr+0x173/0x470 vfs_statx_path+0x10f/0x160 vfs_statx+0xe9/0x150 vfs_fstatat+0x5e/0xc0 __do_sys_newfstatat+0x91/0xf0 do_syscall_64+0x95/0x1a0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e The buggy address belongs to the object at ffff88811cc24c00 which belongs to the cache kmalloc-1k of size 1024 The buggy address is located 16 bytes inside of freed 1024-byte region [ffff88811cc24c00, ffff88811cc25000)
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
Recent Use After Free vulnerabilities
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