CVE-2024-46695: linux kernel Permission Flaw — Fix

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: selinux,smack: don't bypass permissions check in inode_setsecctx hook Marek Gresko reports that the root user on an NFS client is able to change the security labels on files on an NFS filesystem that is exported with root squashing enabled. The end of the kerneldoc comment for __vfs_setxattr_noperm() states: * This function requires the caller to lock the inode's i_mutex before it * is executed. It also assumes that the caller will make the appropriate * permission checks. nfsd_setattr() does do permissions checking via fh_verify() and nfsd_permission(), but those don't do all the same permissions checks that are done by security_inode_setxattr() and its related LSM hooks do. Since nfsd_setattr() is the only consumer of security_inode_setsecctx(), simplest solution appears to be to replace the call to __vfs_setxattr_noperm() with a call to __vfs_setxattr_locked(). This fixes the above issue and has the added benefit of causing nfsd to recall conflicting delegations on a file when a client tries to change its security label.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

4.4

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-276 Incorrect Default Permissions

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
linux	linux_kernel	< 6.6.49
linux	linux_kernel	6.7 — 6.10.8
linux	linux_kernel	All
linux	linux_kernel	All
linux	linux_kernel	All
linux	linux_kernel	All
linux	linux_kernel	All

References

Advisories & Patches

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/459584258d47ec3cc6245a82e8a49c9d08eb8b57 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/76a0e79bc84f466999fa501fce5bf7a07641b8a7 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f71ec019257ba4f7ab198bd948c5902a207bad96

Other References

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2dbc4b7bac60b02cc6e70d05bf6a7dfd551f9dda https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/eebec98791d0137e455cc006411bb92a54250924 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fe0cd53791119f6287b6532af8ce41576d664930 https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/01/msg00001.html https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/03/msg00002.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-46695? +

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: selinux,smack: don't bypass permissions check in inode_setsecctx hook Marek Gresko reports that the root user on an NFS client is able to change the security labels on files on an NFS filesystem that is exported with root squashing enabled. The end of the kerneldoc comment for __vfs_setxattr_noperm() states: * This function requires the caller to lock the inode's i_mutex before it * is executed. It also assumes that the caller will make the appropriate * permission checks. nfsd_setattr() does do permissions checking via fh_verify() and nfsd_permission(), but those don't do all the same permissions checks that are done by security_inode_setxattr() and its related LSM hooks do. Since nfsd_setattr() is the only consumer of security_inode_setsecctx(), simplest solution appears to be to replace the call to __vfs_setxattr_noperm() with a call to __vfs_setxattr_locked(). This fixes the above issue and has the added benefit of causing nfsd to recall conflicting delegations on a file when a client tries to change its security label. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.4 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2024-46695? +

CVE-2024-46695 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 4.4 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.

What products are affected by CVE-2024-46695? +

CVE-2024-46695 affects products from linux, specifically: linux_kernel. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2024-46695? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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CVE-2024-46695