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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-26805

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-04-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.13 / 3.15 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netlink: Fix kernel-infoleak-after-free in __skb_datagram_iter syzbot reported the following uninit-value access issue [1]: netlink_to_full_skb() creates a new `skb` and puts the `skb->data` passed as a 1st arg of netlink_to_full_skb() onto new `skb`. The data size is specified as `len` and passed to skb_put_data(). This `len` is based on `skb->end` that is not data offset but buffer offset. The `skb->end` contains data and tailroom. Since the tailroom is not initialized when the new `skb` created, KMSAN detects uninitialized memory area when copying the data. This patch resolved this issue by correct the len from `skb->end` to `skb->len`, which is the actual data offset. BUG: KMSAN: kernel-infoleak-after-free in instrument_copy_to_user include/linux/instrumented.h:114 [inline] BUG: KMSAN: kernel-infoleak-after-free in copy_to_user_iter lib/iov_iter.c:24 [inline] BUG: KMSAN: kernel-infoleak-after-free in iterate_ubuf include/linux/iov_iter.h:29 [inline] BUG: KMSAN: kernel-infoleak-after-free in iterate_and_advance2 include/linux/iov_iter.h:245 [inline] BUG: KMSAN: kernel-infoleak-after-free in iterate_and_advance include/linux/iov_iter.h:271 [inline] BUG: KMSAN: kernel-infoleak-after-free in _copy_to_iter+0x364/0x2520 lib/iov_iter.c:186 instrument_copy_to_user include/linux/instrumented.h:114 [inline] copy_to_user_iter lib/iov_iter.c:24 [inline] iterate_ubuf include/linux/iov_iter.h:29 [inline] iterate_and_advance2 include/linux/iov_iter.h:245 [inline] iterate_and_advance include/linux/iov_iter.h:271 [inline] _copy_to_iter+0x364/0x2520 lib/iov_iter.c:186 copy_to_iter include/linux/uio.h:197 [inline] simple_copy_to_iter+0x68/0xa0 net/core/datagram.c:532 __skb_datagram_iter+0x123/0xdc0 net/core/datagram.c:420 skb_copy_datagram_iter+0x5c/0x200 net/core/datagram.c:546 skb_copy_datagram_msg include/linux/skbuff.h:3960 [inline] packet_recvmsg+0xd9c/0x2000 net/packet/af_packet.c:3482 sock_recvmsg_nosec net/socket.c:1044 [inline] sock_recvmsg net/socket.c:1066 [inline] sock_read_iter+0x467/0x580 net/socket.c:1136 call_read_iter include/linux/fs.h:2014 [inline] new_sync_read fs/read_write.c:389 [inline] vfs_read+0x8f6/0xe00 fs/read_write.c:470 ksys_read+0x20f/0x4c0 fs/read_write.c:613 __do_sys_read fs/read_write.c:623 [inline] __se_sys_read fs/read_write.c:621 [inline] __x64_sys_read+0x93/0xd0 fs/read_write.c:621 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:52 [inline] do_syscall_64+0x44/0x110 arch/x86/entry/common.c:83 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0x6b Uninit was stored to memory at: skb_put_data include/linux/skbuff.h:2622 [inline] netlink_to_full_skb net/netlink/af_netlink.c:181 [inline] __netlink_deliver_tap_skb net/netlink/af_netlink.c:298 [inline] __netlink_deliver_tap+0x5be/0xc90 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:325 netlink_deliver_tap net/netlink/af_netlink.c:338 [inline] netlink_deliver_tap_kernel net/netlink/af_netlink.c:347 [inline] netlink_unicast_kernel net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1341 [inline] netlink_unicast+0x10f1/0x1250 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1368 netlink_sendmsg+0x1238/0x13d0 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1910 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:730 [inline] __sock_sendmsg net/socket.c:745 [inline] ____sys_sendmsg+0x9c2/0xd60 net/socket.c:2584 ___sys_sendmsg+0x28d/0x3c0 net/socket.c:2638 __sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2667 [inline] __do_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2676 [inline] __se_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2674 [inline] __x64_sys_sendmsg+0x307/0x490 net/socket.c:2674 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:52 [inline] do_syscall_64+0x44/0x110 arch/x86/entry/common.c:83 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0x6b Uninit was created at: free_pages_prepare mm/page_alloc.c:1087 [inline] free_unref_page_prepare+0xb0/0xa40 mm/page_alloc.c:2347 free_unref_page_list+0xeb/0x1100 mm/page_alloc.c:2533 release_pages+0x23d3/0x2410 mm/swap.c:1042 free_pages_and_swap_cache+0xd9/0xf0 mm/swap_state.c:316 tlb_batch_pages ---truncated---

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis
How this class of weakness works · CWE-908

Memory or a resource is used before it has been initialised, so its contents are whatever happened to be there — sometimes leaking earlier data, sometimes values an attacker can influence. Behaviour becomes unpredictable and occasionally exploitable. Remediation is initialising every resource before use and ensuring initialisation happens on all code paths.

General guidance for the use of uninitialized resource class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 3.12.49, < 3.13>= 3.14.54, < 3.15>= 3.18.23, < 3.19>= 4.1.10, < 4.2>= 4.2.3, < 4.19.309>= 4.20, < 5.4.271>= 5.5, < 5.10.212>= 5.11, < 5.15.151>= 5.16, < 6.1.81>= 6.2, < 6.6.21>= 6.7, < 6.7.9= 6.8
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 10.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

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

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.13 / 3.15 / 3.19 or later
Fixed in 3.133.153.19
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 4.2 or later (for 4.1.x branch), or 3.19/3.15/3.13 respectively for earlier branches; Debian 10 should update to later Debian 10.x kernel with security patches

  1. Identify the currently running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. For Debian 10 systems, apply Debian kernel security updates: `apt update && apt install linux-image-$(uname -r | sed 's/-.*//')` or check for available kernel updates via `apt-cache policy linux-image-*`
  3. If running a distribution kernel, upgrade to a newer supported kernel version that includes the fix (4.2 or later for the 4.1 branch, 3.19 or later for the 3.18 branch, etc.)
  4. Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
  5. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version and confirming `skb->len` is used in netlink code: `grep -r 'skb->end' /path/to/kernel/source/net/netlink/af_netlink.c` should show the problematic usage is replaced
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system downtime and could introduce compatibility issues with proprietary kernel modules or older software; ensure backup and test in non-production environment first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $1,600. Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-26805 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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