Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2024-42105
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: nilfs2: fix inode number range checks Patch series "nilfs2: fix potential issues related to reserved inodes". This series fixes one use-after-free issue reported by syzbot, caused by nilfs2's internal inode being exposed in the namespace on a corrupted filesystem, and a couple of flaws that cause problems if the starting number of non-reserved inodes written in the on-disk super block is intentionally (or corruptly) changed from its default value. This patch (of 3): In the current implementation of nilfs2, "nilfs->ns_first_ino", which gives the first non-reserved inode number, is read from the superblock, but its lower limit is not checked. As a result, if a number that overlaps with the inode number range of reserved inodes such as the root directory or metadata files is set in the super block parameter, the inode number test macros (NILFS_MDT_INODE and NILFS_VALID_INODE) will not function properly. In addition, these test macros use left bit-shift calculations using with the inode number as the shift count via the BIT macro, but the result of a shift calculation that exceeds the bit width of an integer is undefined in the C specification, so if "ns_first_ino" is set to a large value other than the default value NILFS_USER_INO (=11), the macros may potentially malfunction depending on the environment. Fix these issues by checking the lower bound of "nilfs->ns_first_ino" and by preventing bit shifts equal to or greater than the NILFS_USER_INO constant in the inode number test macros. Also, change the type of "ns_first_ino" from signed integer to unsigned integer to avoid the need for type casting in comparisons such as the lower bound check introduced this time.
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 analysisMemory 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
< 4.19.318>= 4.20, < 5.4.280>= 5.5, < 5.10.222>= 5.11, < 5.15.163>= 5.16, < 6.1.98>= 6.2, < 6.6.39>= 6.7, < 6.9.9= 6.10CVSS 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
- 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 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 · scoped4.19.3185.4.2805.10.222
Linux Kernel >= 5.15.163 (or >= 5.10.222, >= 5.4.280, or >= 4.19.318 depending on branch)
- 1. Identify the current running kernel version using `uname -r`
- 2. Check if the system uses nilfs2 filesystem by running `mount | grep nilfs2`
- 3. If nilfs2 is in use, back up all critical data before proceeding with kernel upgrade
- 4. Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 5.15.163 or later for the 5.15 branch, or to the latest stable kernel version available for your distribution
- 5. For enterprise Linux distributions (RHEL, CentOS, Oracle Linux), use the vendor's official kernel update channels
- 6. For Debian/Ubuntu, run `sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install linux-image-generic` or specific kernel package
- 7. After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
- 8. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version: `uname -r` and confirming it shows a version >= 5.15.163 (or appropriate fixed version for your branch)
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-2024-42105 — 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-2024-42105 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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