Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2024-42090
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: pinctrl: fix deadlock in create_pinctrl() when handling -EPROBE_DEFER In create_pinctrl(), pinctrl_maps_mutex is acquired before calling add_setting(). If add_setting() returns -EPROBE_DEFER, create_pinctrl() calls pinctrl_free(). However, pinctrl_free() attempts to acquire pinctrl_maps_mutex, which is already held by create_pinctrl(), leading to a potential deadlock. This patch resolves the issue by releasing pinctrl_maps_mutex before calling pinctrl_free(), preventing the deadlock. This bug was discovered and resolved using Coverity Static Analysis Security Testing (SAST) by Synopsys, Inc.
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
>= 3.10, < 4.19.317>= 4.20, < 5.4.279>= 5.5, < 5.10.221>= 5.11, < 5.15.162>= 5.16, < 6.1.97>= 6.2, < 6.6.37>= 6.7, < 6.9.8CVSS 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 · scoped4.19.3175.4.2795.10.221
4.19.317+/5.4.279+/5.10.221+/5.15.162+ (depending on which branch you are on)
- Identify the currently running Linux kernel version using `uname -r`
- Determine which affected version range your kernel falls into from: >= 3.10, < 4.19.317; >= 4.20, < 5.4.279; >= 5.5, < 5.10.221; >= 5.11, < 5.15.162
- Upgrade the kernel to a patched version: for 4.19.x series use 4.19.317 or later; for 5.4.x series use 5.4.279 or later; for 5.10.x series use 5.10.221 or later; for 5.15.x series use 5.15.162 or later
- Reboot the system to apply the new kernel
- Verify the fix is applied by checking that the commit 01fe2f885f7813f8aed5d3704b384a97b1116a9e is included in the new kernel using `cat /proc/version` or checking the kernel config
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-2024-42090 — 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-2024-42090 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
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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