Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-42272

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-08-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.10.224 / 5.15.165 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: sched: act_ct: take care of padding in struct zones_ht_key Blamed commit increased lookup key size from 2 bytes to 16 bytes, because zones_ht_key got a struct net pointer. Make sure rhashtable_lookup() is not using the padding bytes which are not initialized. BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in rht_ptr_rcu include/linux/rhashtable.h:376 [inline] BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in __rhashtable_lookup include/linux/rhashtable.h:607 [inline] BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in rhashtable_lookup include/linux/rhashtable.h:646 [inline] BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in rhashtable_lookup_fast include/linux/rhashtable.h:672 [inline] BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in tcf_ct_flow_table_get+0x611/0x2260 net/sched/act_ct.c:329 rht_ptr_rcu include/linux/rhashtable.h:376 [inline] __rhashtable_lookup include/linux/rhashtable.h:607 [inline] rhashtable_lookup include/linux/rhashtable.h:646 [inline] rhashtable_lookup_fast include/linux/rhashtable.h:672 [inline] tcf_ct_flow_table_get+0x611/0x2260 net/sched/act_ct.c:329 tcf_ct_init+0xa67/0x2890 net/sched/act_ct.c:1408 tcf_action_init_1+0x6cc/0xb30 net/sched/act_api.c:1425 tcf_action_init+0x458/0xf00 net/sched/act_api.c:1488 tcf_action_add net/sched/act_api.c:2061 [inline] tc_ctl_action+0x4be/0x19d0 net/sched/act_api.c:2118 rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x12fc/0x1410 net/core/rtnetlink.c:6647 netlink_rcv_skb+0x375/0x650 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2550 rtnetlink_rcv+0x34/0x40 net/core/rtnetlink.c:6665 netlink_unicast_kernel net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1331 [inline] netlink_unicast+0xf52/0x1260 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1357 netlink_sendmsg+0x10da/0x11e0 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1901 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:730 [inline] __sock_sendmsg+0x30f/0x380 net/socket.c:745 ____sys_sendmsg+0x877/0xb60 net/socket.c:2597 ___sys_sendmsg+0x28d/0x3c0 net/socket.c:2651 __sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2680 [inline] __do_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2689 [inline] __se_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2687 [inline] __x64_sys_sendmsg+0x307/0x4a0 net/socket.c:2687 x64_sys_call+0x2dd6/0x3c10 arch/x86/include/generated/asm/syscalls_64.h:47 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:52 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xcd/0x1e0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:83 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f Local variable key created at: tcf_ct_flow_table_get+0x4a/0x2260 net/sched/act_ct.c:324 tcf_ct_init+0xa67/0x2890 net/sched/act_ct.c:1408

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-908

Memory or a resource is used before it has been initialised, so its contents are whatever happened to be there — sometimes leaking earlier data, sometimes values an attacker can influence. Behaviour becomes unpredictable and occasionally exploitable. Remediation is initialising every resource before use and ensuring initialisation happens on all code paths.

General guidance for the use of uninitialized resource 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:>= 5.10.221, < 5.10.224>= 5.15.162, < 5.15.165>= 6.1.96, < 6.1.104>= 6.6.36, < 6.6.45>= 6.9.7, < 6.10>= 6.10, < 6.10.4= 6.11

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 5.10.224 / 5.15.165 / 6.1.104 or later
Fixed in 5.10.2245.15.1656.1.104
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

5.10.224, 5.15.165, 6.1.104, or 6.6.45 (depending on which kernel branch is in use)

  1. Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 5.10.224 or later for the 5.10.y branch
  2. Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 5.15.165 or later for the 5.15.y branch
  3. Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 6.1.104 or later for the 6.1.y branch
  4. Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 6.6.45 or later for the 6.6.y branch
  5. Reboot the system after applying the kernel update to load the patched kernel
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require compatibility verification with custom modules or specialized hardware drivers; ensure all dependent kernel modules are compatible with the new kernel version

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 $1,600. Get the upgrade done

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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-2024-42272 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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