Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-26831

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-04-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.6.18 / 6.7.6 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: net/handshake: Fix handshake_req_destroy_test1 Recently, handshake_req_destroy_test1 started failing: Expected handshake_req_destroy_test == req, but handshake_req_destroy_test == 0000000000000000 req == 0000000060f99b40 not ok 11 req_destroy works This is because "sock_release(sock)" was replaced with "fput(filp)" to address a memory leak. Note that sock_release() is synchronous but fput() usually delays the final close and clean-up. The delay is not consequential in the other cases that were changed but handshake_req_destroy_test1 is testing that handshake_req_cancel() followed by closing the file actually does call the ->hp_destroy method. Thus the PTR_EQ test at the end has to be sure that the final close is complete before it checks the pointer. We cannot use a completion here because if ->hp_destroy is never called (ie, there is an API bug) then the test will hang. Reported by: Guenter Roeck <[email protected]>

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-401

Allocated memory is never released on some path, so a long-running service or a repeatedly triggered request steadily consumes memory until performance degrades or the process crashes. Attackers exploit it by simply driving the leaking path. Remediation is pairing every allocation with a release and using ownership patterns or tooling to catch what leaks.

General guidance for the memory leak 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:>= 6.6, < 6.6.18>= 6.7, < 6.7.6= 6.5.6= 6.8

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 6.6.18 / 6.7.6 or later
Fixed in 6.6.186.7.6
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel 6.6.18, 6.7.6, or 6.8 (or any later stable release)

  1. Identify the current kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Download and install a fixed kernel version: Linux 6.6.18 or later for the 6.6 branch, 6.7.6 or later for the 6.7 branch, or 6.8.1 or later for the 6.8 branch
  3. Reboot the system to load the new kernel
  4. Verify the kernel version is correct post-reboot using `uname -r`
  5. If running the kernel from a distribution, ensure the distribution's kernel package includes this upstream fix (check distribution security advisories)
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuilding out-of-tree modules; ensure driver compatibility with the new kernel version before upgrading production systems

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

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-26831 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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-2024-26831 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data