Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-50280

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.10 / 4.15 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: dm cache: fix flushing uninitialized delayed_work on cache_ctr error An unexpected WARN_ON from flush_work() may occur when cache creation fails, caused by destroying the uninitialized delayed_work waker in the error path of cache_create(). For example, the warning appears on the superblock checksum error. Reproduce steps: dmsetup create cmeta --table "0 8192 linear /dev/sdc 0" dmsetup create cdata --table "0 65536 linear /dev/sdc 8192" dmsetup create corig --table "0 524288 linear /dev/sdc 262144" dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/mapper/cmeta bs=4k count=1 oflag=direct dmsetup create cache --table "0 524288 cache /dev/mapper/cmeta \ /dev/mapper/cdata /dev/mapper/corig 128 2 metadata2 writethrough smq 0" Kernel logs: (snip) WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 84 at kernel/workqueue.c:4178 __flush_work+0x5d4/0x890 Fix by pulling out the cancel_delayed_work_sync() from the constructor's error path. This patch doesn't affect the use-after-free fix for concurrent dm_resume and dm_destroy (commit 6a459d8edbdb ("dm cache: Fix UAF in destroy()")) as cache_dtr is not changed.

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:>= 4.9.337, < 4.10>= 4.14.303, < 4.15>= 4.19.270, < 4.20>= 5.4.229, < 5.5>= 5.10.163, < 5.11>= 5.15.87, < 5.16>= 6.0.18, < 6.1>= 6.1.4, < 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
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 4.10 / 4.15 / 4.20 or later
Fixed in 4.104.154.20
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Kernel 4.10, 4.15, 4.20, or 5.5 (all EOL); migrate to 5.10 LTS, 6.1 LTS, or 6.6+ for supported status

  1. 1. Identify the currently running Linux kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. 2. Check if your distribution still supports the kernel branch you're on (4.9.x, 4.14.x, 4.19.x, or 5.4.x) - these branches are end-of-life
  3. 3. If supported by your vendor, apply the vendor-provided kernel update that includes commit 135496c208ba26fd68cdef10b64ed7a91ac9a7ff
  4. 4. If vendor updates are unavailable for your current branch, upgrade to a supported kernel branch (5.10 LTS, 6.1 LTS, or 6.6 LTS or later)
  5. 5. Reboot the system to apply the updated kernel
  6. 6. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version and confirming the dm cache module loads without warnings
Caveat Upgrading across major kernel branches (e.g., 5.4 to 6.x) may require rebuilding out-of-tree kernel modules and could introduce subtle behavioral changes in drivers; ensure compatibility testing on non-production systems 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 $3,200. Get the upgrade done

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
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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-2024-50280 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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