#VU104972 Use-after-free in Linux kernel - CVE-2024-57979

Vulnerability identifier: #VU104972

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 5.9 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2024-57979

CWE-ID: CWE-416

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Linux kernel
Operating systems & Components / Operating system

Vendor: Linux Foundation

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to escalate privileges on the system.

The vulnerability exists due to a use-after-free error within the ptp_ocp_complete() function in drivers/ptp/ptp_ocp.c, within the DEFINE_MUTEX(), pps_cdev_pps_fetch(), pps_cdev_ioctl(), pps_cdev_compat_ioctl(), pps_device_destruct(), pps_register_cdev(), pps_unregister_cdev(), EXPORT_SYMBOL() and pps_init() functions in drivers/pps/pps.c, within the pps_kc_bind() and pps_kc_remove() functions in drivers/pps/kc.c, within the pps_add_offset(), pps_register_source() and pps_event() functions in drivers/pps/kapi.c, within the parport_irq() function in drivers/pps/clients/pps_parport.c, within the pps_tty_dcd_change(), pps_tty_open() and pps_tty_close() functions in drivers/pps/clients/pps-ldisc.c, within the pps_ktimer_exit() and pps_ktimer_init() functions in drivers/pps/clients/pps-ktimer.c, within the pps_gpio_probe() function in drivers/pps/clients/pps-gpio.c. A local user can escalate privileges on the system.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: All versions

---

External links
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7e5ee3281dc09014367f5112b6d566ba36ea2d49
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/85241f7de216f8298f6e48540ea13d7dcd100870
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/91932db1d96b2952299ce30c1c693d834d10ace6
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c79a39dc8d060b9e64e8b0fa9d245d44befeefbe
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cd3bbcb6b3a7caa5ce67de76723b6d8531fb7f64

---

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.