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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-50265

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.19.324 / 5.4.286 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: ocfs2: remove entry once instead of null-ptr-dereference in ocfs2_xa_remove() Syzkaller is able to provoke null-ptr-dereference in ocfs2_xa_remove(): [ 57.319872] (a.out,1161,7):ocfs2_xa_remove:2028 ERROR: status = -12 [ 57.320420] (a.out,1161,7):ocfs2_xa_cleanup_value_truncate:1999 ERROR: Partial truncate while removing xattr overlay.upper. Leaking 1 clusters and removing the entry [ 57.321727] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000004 [...] [ 57.325727] RIP: 0010:ocfs2_xa_block_wipe_namevalue+0x2a/0xc0 [...] [ 57.331328] Call Trace: [ 57.331477] <TASK> [...] [ 57.333511] ? do_user_addr_fault+0x3e5/0x740 [ 57.333778] ? exc_page_fault+0x70/0x170 [ 57.334016] ? asm_exc_page_fault+0x2b/0x30 [ 57.334263] ? __pfx_ocfs2_xa_block_wipe_namevalue+0x10/0x10 [ 57.334596] ? ocfs2_xa_block_wipe_namevalue+0x2a/0xc0 [ 57.334913] ocfs2_xa_remove_entry+0x23/0xc0 [ 57.335164] ocfs2_xa_set+0x704/0xcf0 [ 57.335381] ? _raw_spin_unlock+0x1a/0x40 [ 57.335620] ? ocfs2_inode_cache_unlock+0x16/0x20 [ 57.335915] ? trace_preempt_on+0x1e/0x70 [ 57.336153] ? start_this_handle+0x16c/0x500 [ 57.336410] ? preempt_count_sub+0x50/0x80 [ 57.336656] ? _raw_read_unlock+0x20/0x40 [ 57.336906] ? start_this_handle+0x16c/0x500 [ 57.337162] ocfs2_xattr_block_set+0xa6/0x1e0 [ 57.337424] __ocfs2_xattr_set_handle+0x1fd/0x5d0 [ 57.337706] ? ocfs2_start_trans+0x13d/0x290 [ 57.337971] ocfs2_xattr_set+0xb13/0xfb0 [ 57.338207] ? dput+0x46/0x1c0 [ 57.338393] ocfs2_xattr_trusted_set+0x28/0x30 [ 57.338665] ? ocfs2_xattr_trusted_set+0x28/0x30 [ 57.338948] __vfs_removexattr+0x92/0xc0 [ 57.339182] __vfs_removexattr_locked+0xd5/0x190 [ 57.339456] ? preempt_count_sub+0x50/0x80 [ 57.339705] vfs_removexattr+0x5f/0x100 [...] Reproducer uses faultinject facility to fail ocfs2_xa_remove() -> ocfs2_xa_value_truncate() with -ENOMEM. In this case the comment mentions that we can return 0 if ocfs2_xa_cleanup_value_truncate() is going to wipe the entry anyway. But the following 'rc' check is wrong and execution flow do 'ocfs2_xa_remove_entry(loc);' twice: * 1st: in ocfs2_xa_cleanup_value_truncate(); * 2nd: returning back to ocfs2_xa_remove() instead of going to 'out'. Fix this by skipping the 2nd removal of the same entry and making syzkaller repro happy.

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-476

The code follows a pointer that is null, crashing the process. An attacker who can reliably trigger it turns the crash into a denial of service. The fix is checking for null before use and handling the failure path gracefully.

General guidance for the null pointer dereference 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:>= 2.6.34, < 4.19.324>= 4.20, < 5.4.286>= 5.5, < 5.10.230>= 5.11, < 5.15.172>= 5.16, < 6.1.117>= 6.2, < 6.6.61>= 6.7, < 6.11.8= 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
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 4.19.324 / 5.4.286 / 5.10.230 or later
Fixed in 4.19.3245.4.2865.10.230
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Kernel version 4.19.324 / 5.4.286 / 5.10.230 / 5.15.172 or later (whichever is applicable to your distribution)

  1. Identify the current running kernel version using 'uname -r'
  2. Check if the current kernel version is within any of the affected ranges: 2.6.34 to 4.19.323, 4.20 to 5.4.285, 5.5 to 5.10.229, or 5.11 to 5.15.171
  3. If affected, upgrade the kernel to a patched version: 4.19.324+, 5.4.286+, 5.10.230+, or 5.15.172+
  4. Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
  5. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version and confirming the ocfs2_xa_remove function no longer has the double-removal bug
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could have compatibility implications with custom modules or specific hardware drivers

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 $2,850. 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-2024-50265 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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