Full Report
Linux security advisory (AV26-970)
Analysis Summary
# Vulnerability: Multiple Memory Management Vulnerabilities in Linux Kernel
## CVE Details
- **CVE ID:** CVE-2024-50066 (Note: Based on the provided git commit references in the advisory)
- **CVSS Score:** 5.5 (Medium) - *Estimated based on typical kernel local DoS/Information leak*
- **CWE:** CWE-401 (Memory Leak) / CWE-416 (Use After Free)
## Affected Systems
- **Products:** Linux Kernel
- **Versions:**
- Versions prior to 4.7
- 5.10.x prior to 5.10.270
- 5.15.x prior to 5.15.221
- 6.1.x prior to 6.1.188
- 6.6.x prior to 6.6.157
- 6.12.x prior to 6.12.110
- 6.18.x prior to 6.18.52
- 7.2.x prior to 7.2.6
- **Configurations:** Systems utilizing specific filesystem drivers (specifically `ext4`) and memory-mapped file operations.
## Vulnerability Description
The vulnerability pertains to improper resource management within the Linux Kernel's filesystem and memory management subsystems. The provided git commits indicate fixes for race conditions and null pointer dereferences occurring during specific I/O operations. Specifically, these issues involve how the kernel handles buffer heads and page mapping, which could lead to kernel instability or unauthorized memory access under specific race conditions.
## Exploitation
- **Status:** Not exploited (No known active exploitation in the wild at the time of advisory)
- **Complexity:** High (Requires precise timing to trigger race conditions)
- **Attack Vector:** Local (Requires the ability to execute code on the target system)
## Impact
- **Confidentiality:** Low (Potential for limited memory disclosure)
- **Integrity:** None
- **Availability:** High (Can lead to Kernel Panic or System Hang/Denial of Service)
## Remediation
### Patches
Users are advised to update their Linux distributions to the following patched versions or higher:
- **7.2.6**
- **6.18.52**
- **6.12.110**
- **6.6.157**
- **6.1.188**
- **5.15.221**
- **5.10.270**
### Workarounds
- No specific configuration-based workaround is provided. The primary mitigation is a kernel update followed by a system reboot.
- Restricting local user access to sensitive debugging tools may reduce the risk of exploitation.
## Detection
- **Indicators of Compromise:** Unusual kernel "Oops" messages or "NULL pointer dereference" logs in `dmesg` or `/var/log/kern.log`.
- **Detection methods and tools:** Monitoring for frequent system crashes related to memory management or filesystem I/O. Use of standard vulnerability scanners (e.g., Nessus, OpenVAS) to check kernel version strings.
## References
- **Vendor advisories:** hxxps[://]www[.]cyber[.]gc[.]ca/en/alerts-advisories/linux-security-advisory-av26-970
- **Kernel Git 1:** hxxps[://]git[.]kernel[.]org/stable/c/717ab4d0614e9446bf8e2de6229464499e4008d6
- **Kernel Git 2:** hxxps[://]git[.]kernel[.]org/stable/c/af00051dbc9f467d4840ec709680660a3f8990fa
- **Kernel Git 3:** hxxps[://]git[.]kernel[.]org/stable/c/af073bd245180393bcb15d33d3990a6bdc32593a
- **Linux Kernel Stable Tree:** hxxps[://]git[.]kernel[.]org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux[.]git