Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2024-38557
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 · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5: Reload only IB representors upon lag disable/enable On lag disable, the bond IB device along with all of its representors are destroyed, and then the slaves' representors get reloaded. In case the slave IB representor load fails, the eswitch error flow unloads all representors, including ethernet representors, where the netdevs get detached and removed from lag bond. Such flow is inaccurate as the lag driver is not responsible for loading/unloading ethernet representors. Furthermore, the flow described above begins by holding lag lock to prevent bond changes during disable flow. However, when reaching the ethernet representors detachment from lag, the lag lock is required again, triggering the following deadlock: Call trace: __switch_to+0xf4/0x148 __schedule+0x2c8/0x7d0 schedule+0x50/0xe0 schedule_preempt_disabled+0x18/0x28 __mutex_lock.isra.13+0x2b8/0x570 __mutex_lock_slowpath+0x1c/0x28 mutex_lock+0x4c/0x68 mlx5_lag_remove_netdev+0x3c/0x1a0 [mlx5_core] mlx5e_uplink_rep_disable+0x70/0xa0 [mlx5_core] mlx5e_detach_netdev+0x6c/0xb0 [mlx5_core] mlx5e_netdev_change_profile+0x44/0x138 [mlx5_core] mlx5e_netdev_attach_nic_profile+0x28/0x38 [mlx5_core] mlx5e_vport_rep_unload+0x184/0x1b8 [mlx5_core] mlx5_esw_offloads_rep_load+0xd8/0xe0 [mlx5_core] mlx5_eswitch_reload_reps+0x74/0xd0 [mlx5_core] mlx5_disable_lag+0x130/0x138 [mlx5_core] mlx5_lag_disable_change+0x6c/0x70 [mlx5_core] // hold ldev->lock mlx5_devlink_eswitch_mode_set+0xc0/0x410 [mlx5_core] devlink_nl_cmd_eswitch_set_doit+0xdc/0x180 genl_family_rcv_msg_doit.isra.17+0xe8/0x138 genl_rcv_msg+0xe4/0x220 netlink_rcv_skb+0x44/0x108 genl_rcv+0x40/0x58 netlink_unicast+0x198/0x268 netlink_sendmsg+0x1d4/0x418 sock_sendmsg+0x54/0x60 __sys_sendto+0xf4/0x120 __arm64_sys_sendto+0x30/0x40 el0_svc_common+0x8c/0x120 do_el0_svc+0x30/0xa0 el0_svc+0x20/0x30 el0_sync_handler+0x90/0xb8 el0_sync+0x160/0x180 Thus, upon lag enable/disable, load and unload only the IB representors of the slaves preventing the deadlock mentioned above. While at it, refactor the mlx5_esw_offloads_rep_load() function to have a static helper method for its internal logic, in symmetry with the representor unload design.
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 analysisShared resources are accessed without correct locking, so concurrent operations interleave into inconsistent — and sometimes exploitable — states, or deadlock the service outright. These bugs are subtle and timing-dependent. The fix is correct, consistent locking or atomic operations around every shared resource.
General guidance for the improper locking 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
>= 5.15, < 6.6.33>= 6.7, < 6.8.12>= 6.9, < 6.9.3CVSS 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 · scoped6.6.336.8.126.9.3
Kernel 6.6.33+ (or 6.8.12+ or 6.9.3+ depending on your current branch)
- Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 6.6.33 or later if currently running 6.6.x
- Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 6.8.12 or later if currently running 6.7.x - 6.8.x
- Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 6.9.3 or later if currently running 6.9.x - 6.9.2
- For kernel versions 5.15.x through 6.5.x, upgrade to a version that includes the fix (6.6.33 or later recommended)
- After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-38557 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-38557 in production — separate from our analysis above.
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
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