CVE-2024-46845: linux kernel Use-After-Free — Fix

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tracing/timerlat: Only clear timer if a kthread exists The timerlat tracer can use user space threads to check for osnoise and timer latency. If the program using this is killed via a SIGTERM, the threads are shutdown one at a time and another tracing instance can start up resetting the threads before they are fully closed. That causes the hrtimer assigned to the kthread to be shutdown and freed twice when the dying thread finally closes the file descriptors, causing a use-after-free bug. Only cancel the hrtimer if the associated thread is still around. Also add the interface_lock around the resetting of the tlat_var->kthread. Note, this is just a quick fix that can be backported to stable. A real fix is to have a better synchronization between the shutdown of old threads and the starting of new ones.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

7.8

HIGH

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

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-416 Use After Free

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
linux	linux_kernel	6.5 — 6.6.51
linux	linux_kernel	6.7 — 6.10.10
linux	linux_kernel	All
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/8a9d0d405159e9c796ddf771f7cff691c1a2bc1e https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8c72f0b2c45f21cb8b00fc37f79f632d7e46c2ed https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e6a53481da292d970d1edf0d8831121d1c5e2f0d

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-46845? +

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tracing/timerlat: Only clear timer if a kthread exists The timerlat tracer can use user space threads to check for osnoise and timer latency. If the program using this is killed via a SIGTERM, the threads are shutdown one at a time and another tracing instance can start up resetting the threads before they are fully closed. That causes the hrtimer assigned to the kthread to be shutdown and freed twice when the dying thread finally closes the file descriptors, causing a use-after-free bug. Only cancel the hrtimer if the associated thread is still around. Also add the interface_lock around the resetting of the tlat_var->kthread. Note, this is just a quick fix that can be backported to stable. A real fix is to have a better synchronization between the shutdown of old threads and the starting of new ones. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2024-46845? +

CVE-2024-46845 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.8 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching.

What products are affected by CVE-2024-46845? +

CVE-2024-46845 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-2024-46845? +

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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