dbcve.org
Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-42073

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-07-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.17 / 6.1.97 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: mlxsw: spectrum_buffers: Fix memory corruptions on Spectrum-4 systems The following two shared buffer operations make use of the Shared Buffer Status Register (SBSR): # devlink sb occupancy snapshot pci/0000:01:00.0 # devlink sb occupancy clearmax pci/0000:01:00.0 The register has two masks of 256 bits to denote on which ingress / egress ports the register should operate on. Spectrum-4 has more than 256 ports, so the register was extended by cited commit with a new 'port_page' field. However, when filling the register's payload, the driver specifies the ports as absolute numbers and not relative to the first port of the port page, resulting in memory corruptions [1]. Fix by specifying the ports relative to the first port of the port page. [1] BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in mlxsw_sp_sb_occ_snapshot+0xb6d/0xbc0 Read of size 1 at addr ffff8881068cb00f by task devlink/1566 [...] Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0xc6/0x120 print_report+0xce/0x670 kasan_report+0xd7/0x110 mlxsw_sp_sb_occ_snapshot+0xb6d/0xbc0 mlxsw_devlink_sb_occ_snapshot+0x75/0xb0 devlink_nl_sb_occ_snapshot_doit+0x1f9/0x2a0 genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0x20c/0x300 genl_rcv_msg+0x567/0x800 netlink_rcv_skb+0x170/0x450 genl_rcv+0x2d/0x40 netlink_unicast+0x547/0x830 netlink_sendmsg+0x8d4/0xdb0 __sys_sendto+0x49b/0x510 __x64_sys_sendto+0xe5/0x1c0 do_syscall_64+0xc1/0x1d0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f [...] Allocated by task 1: kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 __kasan_kmalloc+0x8f/0xa0 copy_verifier_state+0xbc2/0xfb0 do_check_common+0x2c51/0xc7e0 bpf_check+0x5107/0x9960 bpf_prog_load+0xf0e/0x2690 __sys_bpf+0x1a61/0x49d0 __x64_sys_bpf+0x7d/0xc0 do_syscall_64+0xc1/0x1d0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f Freed by task 1: kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 kasan_save_free_info+0x3b/0x60 poison_slab_object+0x109/0x170 __kasan_slab_free+0x14/0x30 kfree+0xca/0x2b0 free_verifier_state+0xce/0x270 do_check_common+0x4828/0xc7e0 bpf_check+0x5107/0x9960 bpf_prog_load+0xf0e/0x2690 __sys_bpf+0x1a61/0x49d0 __x64_sys_bpf+0x7d/0xc0 do_syscall_64+0xc1/0x1d0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f

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-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 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:< 5.17>= 6.1, < 6.1.97>= 6.2, < 6.6.37>= 6.7, < 6.9.8

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 5.17 / 6.1.97 / 6.6.37 or later
Fixed in 5.176.1.976.6.37
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

6.1.97+ / 6.6.37+ / 6.9.8+ or latest stable (6.10+)

  1. Upgrade the Linux kernel to a fixed version that includes the patch for CVE-2024-42073
  2. For kernel 6.1.x, upgrade to version 6.1.97 or later
  3. For kernel 6.2.x through 6.5.x, upgrade to kernel 6.6.37 or later (or skip to a newer stable release)
  4. For kernel 6.7.x or 6.8.x, upgrade to version 6.9.8 or later
  5. For kernel 6.9.x, upgrade to version 6.9.8 or later
  6. Alternatively, upgrade to the latest stable kernel (6.10 or later) which contains the fix
  7. After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  8. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version and confirming mlxsw driver loads without errors
Caveat Standard kernel upgrade risks apply - verify hardware compatibility and review release notes for the target kernel version before deploying in production

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

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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-2024-42073 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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