Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-26853

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-04-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.1.82 / 6.6.22 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: igc: avoid returning frame twice in XDP_REDIRECT When a frame can not be transmitted in XDP_REDIRECT (e.g. due to a full queue), it is necessary to free it by calling xdp_return_frame_rx_napi. However, this is the responsibility of the caller of the ndo_xdp_xmit (see for example bq_xmit_all in kernel/bpf/devmap.c) and thus calling it inside igc_xdp_xmit (which is the ndo_xdp_xmit of the igc driver) as well will lead to memory corruption. In fact, bq_xmit_all expects that it can return all frames after the last successfully transmitted one. Therefore, break for the first not transmitted frame, but do not call xdp_return_frame_rx_napi in igc_xdp_xmit. This is equally implemented in other Intel drivers such as the igb. There are two alternatives to this that were rejected: 1. Return num_frames as all the frames would have been transmitted and release them inside igc_xdp_xmit. While it might work technically, it is not what the return value is meant to represent (i.e. the number of SUCCESSFULLY transmitted packets). 2. Rework kernel/bpf/devmap.c and all drivers to support non-consecutively dropped packets. Besides being complex, it likely has a negative performance impact without a significant gain since it is anyway unlikely that the next frame can be transmitted if the previous one was dropped. The memory corruption can be reproduced with the following script which leads to a kernel panic after a few seconds. It basically generates more traffic than a i225 NIC can transmit and pushes it via XDP_REDIRECT from a virtual interface to the physical interface where frames get dropped. #!/bin/bash INTERFACE=enp4s0 INTERFACE_IDX=`cat /sys/class/net/$INTERFACE/ifindex` sudo ip link add dev veth1 type veth peer name veth2 sudo ip link set up $INTERFACE sudo ip link set up veth1 sudo ip link set up veth2 cat << EOF > redirect.bpf.c SEC("prog") int redirect(struct xdp_md *ctx) { return bpf_redirect($INTERFACE_IDX, 0); } char _license[] SEC("license") = "GPL"; EOF clang -O2 -g -Wall -target bpf -c redirect.bpf.c -o redirect.bpf.o sudo ip link set veth2 xdp obj redirect.bpf.o cat << EOF > pass.bpf.c SEC("prog") int pass(struct xdp_md *ctx) { return XDP_PASS; } char _license[] SEC("license") = "GPL"; EOF clang -O2 -g -Wall -target bpf -c pass.bpf.c -o pass.bpf.o sudo ip link set $INTERFACE xdp obj pass.bpf.o cat << EOF > trafgen.cfg { /* Ethernet Header */ 0xe8, 0x6a, 0x64, 0x41, 0xbf, 0x46, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, const16(ETH_P_IP), /* IPv4 Header */ 0b01000101, 0, # IPv4 version, IHL, TOS const16(1028), # IPv4 total length (UDP length + 20 bytes (IP header)) const16(2), # IPv4 ident 0b01000000, 0, # IPv4 flags, fragmentation off 64, # IPv4 TTL 17, # Protocol UDP csumip(14, 33), # IPv4 checksum /* UDP Header */ 10, 0, 1, 1, # IP Src - adapt as needed 10, 0, 1, 2, # IP Dest - adapt as needed const16(6666), # UDP Src Port const16(6666), # UDP Dest Port const16(1008), # UDP length (UDP header 8 bytes + payload length) csumudp(14, 34), # UDP checksum /* Payload */ fill('W', 1000), } EOF sudo trafgen -i trafgen.cfg -b3000MB -o veth1 --cpp

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-787

The program writes past the bounds of a buffer, overwriting adjacent memory an attacker can turn to their advantage. Crafted input can overwrite control data and redirect execution. Remediation is validating every index and length before a write, plus modern memory-safety mitigations.

General guidance for the out-of-bounds write 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:>= 5.13, < 6.1.82>= 6.2, < 6.6.22>= 6.7, < 6.7.10= 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 6.1.82 / 6.6.22 / 6.7.10 or later
Fixed in 6.1.826.6.226.7.10
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel 6.1.82+ (for 6.1.y branch), 6.6.22+ (for 6.6.y branch), 6.7.10+ (for 6.7.y branch), or 6.8.1+ (for 6.8.x branch)

  1. Identify the currently running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Determine which stable kernel branch your current version belongs to (e.g., 6.1.y, 6.6.y, 6.7.y, or 6.8.x)
  3. Upgrade the Linux kernel to the fixed version for your branch: For 6.1.x: upgrade to >= 6.1.82; For 6.6.x: upgrade to >= 6.6.22; For 6.7.x: upgrade to >= 6.7.10; For 6.8.x: upgrade to a version that includes the fix (6.8.1 or later stable release)
  4. Reboot the system to load the new kernel
  5. Verify the fix is applied by checking the igc driver code in `/sys/kernel/debug/drivers/net/igc` or by confirming the kernel version
Caveat Kernel upgrades may introduce compatibility issues with third-party kernel modules or specific hardware drivers; ensure driver compatibility before upgrading

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 $2,850. Get the upgrade done

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Free · runs locally
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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-2024-26853 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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