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FreeBSDOperating system

CVE-2024-42416

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-09-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.3 or later.
See remediation →
90/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Zero-click

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
The ctl_report_supported_opcodes function did not sufficiently validate a field provided by userspace, allowing an arbitrary write to a limited amount of kernel help memory. Malicious software running in a guest VM that exposes virtio_scsi can exploit the vulnerabilities to achieve code execution on the host in the bhyve userspace process, which typically runs as root. Note that bhyve runs in a Capsicum sandbox, so malicious code is constrained by the capabilities available to the bhyve process. A malicious iSCSI initiator could achieve remote code execution on the iSCSI target host.

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 · high confidence

The ctl_report_supported_opcodes function in FreeBSD's SCSI controller lacks proper validation of a userspace-provided field, allowing an arbitrary write to a limited kernel memory region. This vulnerability can be exploited by malicious guest VMs via virtio_scsi to achieve code execution in the bhyve userspace process (typically running as root), and also enables a malicious iSCSI initiator to achieve remote code execution on the iSCSI target host.

MitigationApply the FreeBSD security patch when available; in the interim, restrict untrusted VMs from accessing virtio_scsi devices and limit network exposure of iSCSI targets to trusted initiators only.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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
FreeBSDOperating system
Affected:>= 13.0, < 13.3= 13.3= 13.4= 14.0= 14.1

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
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check FreeBSD version
    Run 'uname -r' or examine /etc/os-release to determine the installed FreeBSD version
    Affected if The version matches FreeBSD >= 13.0, < 13.3; = 13.3; = 13.4; = 14.0; or = 14.1
  2. Verify if CAM Target Layer (ctl) is enabled
    Check if ctl module is loaded: 'kldstat | grep ctl' or check /boot/loader.conf for ctl_load="YES"
    Affected if The ctl module is loaded or configured to load (required for the vulnerable code path)
  3. Identify virtio_scsi device usage
    Examine bhyve VM configurations in /usr/local/etc/bhyve.d/ or /etc/bhyve/ for devices using 'virtio-scsi' or examine running VMs with 'bhyvectl --list'
    Affected if Any untrusted VM is configured with virtio_scsi passthrough, creating an attack vector from guest to host
  4. Check iSCSI target network exposure
    Review /etc/ctl.conf for iSCSI target configuration and verify network access with 'sockstat -4 -6' or firewall rules for ports 3260/tcp
    Affected if An iSCSI target is exposed to network-accessible initiators, particularly untrusted ones

A system is affected if it runs a vulnerable FreeBSD version with the ctl module enabled and either has untrusted VMs using virtio_scsi or exposes an iSCSI target to untrusted network initiators.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 13.3 or later
Fixed in 13.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the FreeBSD security patch when available; in the interim, restrict untrusted VMs from accessing virtio_scsi devices and limit network exposure of iSCSI targets to trusted initiators only.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

FreeBSD 13.4-RELEASE-pX or 14.1-RELEASE-pX (or newer stable branches)

  1. Identify your current FreeBSD version using 'freebsd-version -k' or 'uname -a'
  2. Backup all critical data and configurations before performing the upgrade
  3. For systems running FreeBSD 13.x: Upgrade to FreeBSD 13.4-RELEASE or later (13.4-RELEASE-pX recommended)
  4. For systems running FreeBSD 14.x: Upgrade to FreeBSD 14.1-RELEASE or later (14.1-RELEASE-pX recommended)
  5. If using bhyve with virtio_scsi, ensure the updated bhyve binary is in use after upgrade
  6. Restart any bhyve instances that were running during the upgrade to use the patched hypervisor
  7. For iSCSI targets, ensure the CTL (CAM Target Layer) module is updated and restart iscsi_target service if needed
  8. Verify the patch is applied by checking 'sysctl kern.version' for the security patch level
Caveat Upgrading FreeBSD base system may require careful planning; ensure compatibility with installed packages and review the Release Notes for the target version for any configuration changes or deprecated features

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

Fix this in FreeBSD Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,096.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2024-42416 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data