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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-44958

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-09-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.15 / 4.20 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/smt: Fix unbalance sched_smt_present dec/inc I got the following warn report while doing stress test: jump label: negative count! WARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 38 at kernel/jump_label.c:263 static_key_slow_try_dec+0x9d/0xb0 Call Trace: <TASK> __static_key_slow_dec_cpuslocked+0x16/0x70 sched_cpu_deactivate+0x26e/0x2a0 cpuhp_invoke_callback+0x3ad/0x10d0 cpuhp_thread_fun+0x3f5/0x680 smpboot_thread_fn+0x56d/0x8d0 kthread+0x309/0x400 ret_from_fork+0x41/0x70 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1b/0x30 </TASK> Because when cpuset_cpu_inactive() fails in sched_cpu_deactivate(), the cpu offline failed, but sched_smt_present is decremented before calling sched_cpu_deactivate(), it leads to unbalanced dec/inc, so fix it by incrementing sched_smt_present in the error path.

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

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

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:>= 4.14.86, < 4.15>= 4.19.7, < 4.20>= 4.20, < 5.15.165>= 5.16, < 6.1.105>= 6.2, < 6.6.46>= 6.7, < 6.10.5= 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 4.15 / 4.20 / 5.15.165 or later
Fixed in 4.154.205.15.165
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Linux kernel >= 6.1.105 (or >= 5.15.165, >= 4.20, or >= 4.15 depending on your base version)

  1. Apply the vendor patch from commit 2a3548c7ef2e135aee40e7e5e44e7d11b893e7c4 to the kernel source code. The fix adds sched_smt_present++ in the error path of cpuset_cpu_inactive() within sched_cpu_deactivate() to balance the decrement that occurred before the call failed.
  2. Rebuild the kernel with the applied fix.
  3. Reboot the system with the patched kernel to resolve the unbalanced sched_smt_present counter issue.
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuilding custom modules and rebooting. Ensure compatibility with userspace tools and verify that required kernel features are enabled in the new 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-2024-44958 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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