#VU95560 Improper locking in Linux kernel - CVE-2024-42251

Vulnerability identifier: #VU95560

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 4.3 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2024-42251

CWE-ID: CWE-667

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 perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

The vulnerability exists due to improper locking within the page_folio() function in mm/gup.c, within the filemap_get_folios_contig(), filemap_get_read_batch() and next_uptodate_folio() functions in mm/filemap.c, within the cifs_extend_writeback() function in fs/smb/client/file.c, within the afs_extend_writeback() function in fs/afs/write.c. A local user can perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: 6.6, 6.6 rc1, 6.6 rc2, 6.6 rc3, 6.6 rc4, 6.6 rc5, 6.6 rc6, 6.6.1, 6.6.2, 6.6.3, 6.6.4, 6.6.5, 6.6.6, 6.6.7, 6.6.8, 6.6.9, 6.6.10, 6.6.11, 6.6.12, 6.6.13, 6.6.14, 6.6.15, 6.6.16, 6.6.17, 6.6.18, 6.6.19, 6.6.20, 6.6.21, 6.6.22, 6.6.23, 6.6.24, 6.6.25, 6.6.26, 6.6.27, 6.6.28, 6.6.29, 6.6.30, 6.6.31, 6.6.32, 6.6.33, 6.6.34, 6.6.35, 6.6.36, 6.6.37, 6.6.38, 6.6.39, 6.6.40, 6.6.41

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External links
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/16380f52b72166d6a33b508cc2509716f436253f
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e7db2762ea3e69f215b3ec4db666006deccc37b4
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fa2690af573dfefb47ba6eef888797a64b6b5f3c
https://mirrors.edge.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v6.x/ChangeLog-6.10
https://mirrors.edge.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v6.x/ChangeLog-6.6.42

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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.