Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-26944

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-01

Fix available

A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.8.3 or later.

See remediation →

80/100

Remediation priority · High

Zero-click Patch available

Official description

NVD · unedited

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: zoned: fix use-after-free in do_zone_finish() Shinichiro reported the following use-after-free triggered by the device replace operation in fstests btrfs/070. BTRFS info (device nullb1): scrub: finished on devid 1 with status: 0 ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in do_zone_finish+0x91a/0xb90 [btrfs] Read of size 8 at addr ffff8881543c8060 by task btrfs-cleaner/3494007 CPU: 0 PID: 3494007 Comm: btrfs-cleaner Tainted: G W 6.8.0-rc5-kts #1 Hardware name: Supermicro Super Server/X11SPi-TF, BIOS 3.3 02/21/2020 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x5b/0x90 print_report+0xcf/0x670 ? __virt_addr_valid+0x200/0x3e0 kasan_report+0xd8/0x110 ? do_zone_finish+0x91a/0xb90 [btrfs] ? do_zone_finish+0x91a/0xb90 [btrfs] do_zone_finish+0x91a/0xb90 [btrfs] btrfs_delete_unused_bgs+0x5e1/0x1750 [btrfs] ? __pfx_btrfs_delete_unused_bgs+0x10/0x10 [btrfs] ? btrfs_put_root+0x2d/0x220 [btrfs] ? btrfs_clean_one_deleted_snapshot+0x299/0x430 [btrfs] cleaner_kthread+0x21e/0x380 [btrfs] ? __pfx_cleaner_kthread+0x10/0x10 [btrfs] kthread+0x2e3/0x3c0 ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 ret_from_fork+0x31/0x70 ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1b/0x30 </TASK> Allocated by task 3493983: kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 __kasan_kmalloc+0xaa/0xb0 btrfs_alloc_device+0xb3/0x4e0 [btrfs] device_list_add.constprop.0+0x993/0x1630 [btrfs] btrfs_scan_one_device+0x219/0x3d0 [btrfs] btrfs_control_ioctl+0x26e/0x310 [btrfs] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x134/0x1b0 do_syscall_64+0x99/0x190 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x6e/0x76 Freed by task 3494056: kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 kasan_save_free_info+0x3f/0x60 poison_slab_object+0x102/0x170 __kasan_slab_free+0x32/0x70 kfree+0x11b/0x320 btrfs_rm_dev_replace_free_srcdev+0xca/0x280 [btrfs] btrfs_dev_replace_finishing+0xd7e/0x14f0 [btrfs] btrfs_dev_replace_by_ioctl+0x1286/0x25a0 [btrfs] btrfs_ioctl+0xb27/0x57d0 [btrfs] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x134/0x1b0 do_syscall_64+0x99/0x190 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x6e/0x76 The buggy address belongs to the object at ffff8881543c8000 which belongs to the cache kmalloc-1k of size 1024 The buggy address is located 96 bytes inside of freed 1024-byte region [ffff8881543c8000, ffff8881543c8400) The buggy address belongs to the physical page: page:00000000fe2c1285 refcount:1 mapcount:0 mapping:0000000000000000 index:0x0 pfn:0x1543c8 head:00000000fe2c1285 order:3 entire_mapcount:0 nr_pages_mapped:0 pincount:0 flags: 0x17ffffc0000840(slab|head|node=0|zone=2|lastcpupid=0x1fffff) page_type: 0xffffffff() raw: 0017ffffc0000840 ffff888100042dc0 ffffea0019e8f200 dead000000000002 raw: 0000000000000000 0000000000100010 00000001ffffffff 0000000000000000 page dumped because: kasan: bad access detected Memory state around the buggy address: ffff8881543c7f00: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ffff8881543c7f80: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 >ffff8881543c8000: fa fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb ^ ffff8881543c8080: fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb ffff8881543c8100: fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb This UAF happens because we're accessing stale zone information of a already removed btrfs_device in do_zone_finish(). The sequence of events is as follows: btrfs_dev_replace_start btrfs_scrub_dev btrfs_dev_replace_finishing btrfs_dev_replace_update_device_in_mapping_tree <-- devices replaced btrfs_rm_dev_replace_free_srcdev btrfs_free_device <-- device freed cleaner_kthread btrfs_delete_unused_bgs btrfs_zone_finish do_zone_finish <-- refers the freed device The reason for this is that we're using a ---truncated---

Technical summary

dbcve analysis

How this class of weakness works · CWE-416

Memory is used after it has been freed, so its contents — now potentially attacker-controlled — drive the program's behaviour. With careful heap grooming this becomes code execution. The fix requires disciplined ownership of memory and often a targeted rework of the object lifecycle.

General guidance for the use after free 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

NVD · CPE data

Linux KernelOperating system

Affected:>= 5.16, < 6.8.3= 6.9

CVSS breakdown

From the vector

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

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

Remediation

dbcve · scoped

Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.8.3 or later

Fixed in 6.8.3

Vendor patch git.kernel.org →

Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 6.8.3 or later (including 6.9 and stable branches)

Check the current kernel version with: uname -r
Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 6.8.3 or later (e.g., 6.8.4, 6.9, or latest stable)
For Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install linux-image-generic (or appropriate meta-package)
For RHEL/Fedora: sudo dnf update kernel
For SUSE: sudo zypper update kernel-default
Reboot the system to load the new kernel: sudo reboot
Verify the kernel has been upgraded with: uname -r

Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could have compatibility issues with out-of-tree kernel modules or proprietary drivers - ensure dependent modules (like NVIDIA drivers) are rebuilt for the new kernel

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 $3,200. Get the upgrade done

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally

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References

Primary sources

git.kernel.orgPatch / commit
git.kernel.orgPatch
git.kernel.orgPatch
nvd.nist.govNVD record

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-26944 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2024-26944?

The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.

The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
A config change or rule that shut the vector down
A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon

No notes yet

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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

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to 6.8.3 or later

Severity 7.8 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 0.2%

Affects: Linux Kernel

Remediation

A high-priority fix

Get a fix

Estimated effortfrom ~18 hrs

ComplexityComplex

Typical engagementfrom $3,200

What a fix involves

We scope it with you and confirm a fixed quote
A specialist builds a reviewed fix
You deploy it to staging first
Optional re-test once it’s live

A high-priority vulnerability. Send your environment and a specialist will scope CVE-2024-26944 and return a fixed quote and timeline.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Scan for this in your stack

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

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Remediation

References