Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-49959

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-10-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.10.227 / 5.15.168 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: jbd2: stop waiting for space when jbd2_cleanup_journal_tail() returns error In __jbd2_log_wait_for_space(), we might call jbd2_cleanup_journal_tail() to recover some journal space. But if an error occurs while executing jbd2_cleanup_journal_tail() (e.g., an EIO), we don't stop waiting for free space right away, we try other branches, and if j_committing_transaction is NULL (i.e., the tid is 0), we will get the following complain: ============================================ JBD2: I/O error when updating journal superblock for sdd-8. __jbd2_log_wait_for_space: needed 256 blocks and only had 217 space available __jbd2_log_wait_for_space: no way to get more journal space in sdd-8 ------------[ cut here ]------------ WARNING: CPU: 2 PID: 139804 at fs/jbd2/checkpoint.c:109 __jbd2_log_wait_for_space+0x251/0x2e0 Modules linked in: CPU: 2 PID: 139804 Comm: kworker/u8:3 Not tainted 6.6.0+ #1 RIP: 0010:__jbd2_log_wait_for_space+0x251/0x2e0 Call Trace: <TASK> add_transaction_credits+0x5d1/0x5e0 start_this_handle+0x1ef/0x6a0 jbd2__journal_start+0x18b/0x340 ext4_dirty_inode+0x5d/0xb0 __mark_inode_dirty+0xe4/0x5d0 generic_update_time+0x60/0x70 [...] ============================================ So only if jbd2_cleanup_journal_tail() returns 1, i.e., there is nothing to clean up at the moment, continue to try to reclaim free space in other ways. Note that this fix relies on commit 6f6a6fda2945 ("jbd2: fix ocfs2 corrupt when updating journal superblock fails") to make jbd2_cleanup_journal_tail return the correct error code.

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:>= 2.6.28, < 5.10.227>= 5.11, < 5.15.168>= 5.16, < 6.1.113>= 6.2, < 6.6.55>= 6.7, < 6.10.14>= 6.11, < 6.11.3

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 5.10.227 / 5.15.168 / 6.1.113 or later
Fixed in 5.10.2275.15.1686.1.113
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel 5.10.227, 5.15.168, 6.1.113, or 6.6.55 (or any later stable release in each respective branch)

  1. Identify the current running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Check which kernel branch your version falls into (5.10.x, 5.15.x, 6.1.x, or 6.6.x)
  3. Plan a maintenance window for the kernel upgrade
  4. Update the kernel package via your distribution's package manager (e.g., `apt-get update && apt-get install linux-image-<version>` for Debian/Ubuntu, or `yum update kernel` for RHEL/CentOS)
  5. Reboot the system to load the new kernel
  6. Verify the new kernel version is running with `uname -r` and confirm it matches or exceeds the fixed versions: 5.10.227, 5.15.168, 6.1.113, or 6.6.55
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could introduce compatibility issues with proprietary kernel modules or specific hardware drivers; test in staging first

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-2024-49959 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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