Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-50073

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-10-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.1.114 / 6.6.58 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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: tty: n_gsm: Fix use-after-free in gsm_cleanup_mux BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in gsm_cleanup_mux+0x77b/0x7b0 drivers/tty/n_gsm.c:3160 [n_gsm] Read of size 8 at addr ffff88815fe99c00 by task poc/3379 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 3379 Comm: poc Not tainted 6.11.0+ #56 Hardware name: VMware, Inc. VMware Virtual Platform/440BX Desktop Reference Platform, BIOS 6.00 11/12/2020 Call Trace: <TASK> gsm_cleanup_mux+0x77b/0x7b0 drivers/tty/n_gsm.c:3160 [n_gsm] __pfx_gsm_cleanup_mux+0x10/0x10 drivers/tty/n_gsm.c:3124 [n_gsm] __pfx_sched_clock_cpu+0x10/0x10 kernel/sched/clock.c:389 update_load_avg+0x1c1/0x27b0 kernel/sched/fair.c:4500 __pfx_min_vruntime_cb_rotate+0x10/0x10 kernel/sched/fair.c:846 __rb_insert_augmented+0x492/0xbf0 lib/rbtree.c:161 gsmld_ioctl+0x395/0x1450 drivers/tty/n_gsm.c:3408 [n_gsm] _raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x92/0xf0 arch/x86/include/asm/atomic.h:107 __pfx_gsmld_ioctl+0x10/0x10 drivers/tty/n_gsm.c:3822 [n_gsm] ktime_get+0x5e/0x140 kernel/time/timekeeping.c:195 ldsem_down_read+0x94/0x4e0 arch/x86/include/asm/atomic64_64.h:79 __pfx_ldsem_down_read+0x10/0x10 drivers/tty/tty_ldsem.c:338 __pfx_do_vfs_ioctl+0x10/0x10 fs/ioctl.c:805 tty_ioctl+0x643/0x1100 drivers/tty/tty_io.c:2818 Allocated by task 65: gsm_data_alloc.constprop.0+0x27/0x190 drivers/tty/n_gsm.c:926 [n_gsm] gsm_send+0x2c/0x580 drivers/tty/n_gsm.c:819 [n_gsm] gsm1_receive+0x547/0xad0 drivers/tty/n_gsm.c:3038 [n_gsm] gsmld_receive_buf+0x176/0x280 drivers/tty/n_gsm.c:3609 [n_gsm] tty_ldisc_receive_buf+0x101/0x1e0 drivers/tty/tty_buffer.c:391 tty_port_default_receive_buf+0x61/0xa0 drivers/tty/tty_port.c:39 flush_to_ldisc+0x1b0/0x750 drivers/tty/tty_buffer.c:445 process_scheduled_works+0x2b0/0x10d0 kernel/workqueue.c:3229 worker_thread+0x3dc/0x950 kernel/workqueue.c:3391 kthread+0x2a3/0x370 kernel/kthread.c:389 ret_from_fork+0x2d/0x70 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:147 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:257 Freed by task 3367: kfree+0x126/0x420 mm/slub.c:4580 gsm_cleanup_mux+0x36c/0x7b0 drivers/tty/n_gsm.c:3160 [n_gsm] gsmld_ioctl+0x395/0x1450 drivers/tty/n_gsm.c:3408 [n_gsm] tty_ioctl+0x643/0x1100 drivers/tty/tty_io.c:2818 [Analysis] gsm_msg on the tx_ctrl_list or tx_data_list of gsm_mux can be freed by multi threads through ioctl,which leads to the occurrence of uaf. Protect it by gsm tx lock.

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-416

Memory 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
Affected:< 6.1.114>= 6.2, < 6.6.58>= 6.7, < 6.11.5= 6.12

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
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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.1.114 / 6.6.58 / 6.11.5 or later
Fixed in 6.1.1146.6.586.11.5
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel 6.1.114 / 6.6.58 / 6.11.5 / 6.12.1 (or later stable releases)

  1. Upgrade the Linux kernel to a version that includes the fix commit 0eec592c6a7460ba795d7de29f3dc95cb5422e62
  2. For kernel 6.1.x: upgrade to 6.1.114 or later
  3. For kernel 6.6.x: upgrade to 6.6.58 or later
  4. For kernel 6.7.x - 6.11.x: upgrade to 6.11.5 or later
  5. For kernel 6.12.x: upgrade to 6.12.1 or later
  6. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
Caveat Kernel upgrade may require system reboot; ensure compatibility with custom drivers or modules

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 $3,200. 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-2024-50073 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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