Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-53044

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.11.7 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: net/sched: sch_api: fix xa_insert() error path in tcf_block_get_ext() This command: $ tc qdisc replace dev eth0 ingress_block 1 egress_block 1 clsact Error: block dev insert failed: -EBUSY. fails because user space requests the same block index to be set for both ingress and egress. [ side note, I don't think it even failed prior to commit 913b47d3424e ("net/sched: Introduce tc block netdev tracking infra"), because this is a command from an old set of notes of mine which used to work, but alas, I did not scientifically bisect this ] The problem is not that it fails, but rather, that the second time around, it fails differently (and irrecoverably): $ tc qdisc replace dev eth0 ingress_block 1 egress_block 1 clsact Error: dsa_core: Flow block cb is busy. [ another note: the extack is added by me for illustration purposes. the context of the problem is that clsact_init() obtains the same &q->ingress_block pointer as &q->egress_block, and since we call tcf_block_get_ext() on both of them, "dev" will be added to the block->ports xarray twice, thus failing the operation: once through the ingress block pointer, and once again through the egress block pointer. the problem itself is that when xa_insert() fails, we have emitted a FLOW_BLOCK_BIND command through ndo_setup_tc(), but the offload never sees a corresponding FLOW_BLOCK_UNBIND. ] Even correcting the bad user input, we still cannot recover: $ tc qdisc replace dev swp3 ingress_block 1 egress_block 2 clsact Error: dsa_core: Flow block cb is busy. Basically the only way to recover is to reboot the system, or unbind and rebind the net device driver. To fix the bug, we need to fill the correct error teardown path which was missed during code movement, and call tcf_block_offload_unbind() when xa_insert() fails. [ last note, fundamentally I blame the label naming convention in tcf_block_get_ext() for the bug. The labels should be named after what they do, not after the error path that jumps to them. This way, it is obviously wrong that two labels pointing to the same code mean something is wrong, and checking the code correctness at the goto site is also easier ]

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:>= 6.8, < 6.11.7= 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 6.11.7 or later
Fixed in 6.11.7
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 6.11.8 or later (for 6.8-6.11.x users) / Linux Kernel 6.12.2 or later (for 6.12 users)

  1. Identify the currently running Linux kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. If running kernel version >= 6.8 and < 6.11.7, plan to upgrade to kernel 6.11.7 or later
  3. If running kernel version = 6.12, plan to upgrade to kernel 6.12.1 or later
  4. Schedule a maintenance window for the kernel upgrade
  5. Back up critical data and services on the affected system
  6. Upgrade the Linux kernel to a fixed version (e.g., 6.11.8, 6.12.2, or later stable release)
  7. Reboot the system to load the new kernel
  8. Verify the kernel version with `uname -r` to confirm the fix is applied
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require driver recompilation or have compatibility implications with proprietary kernel modules; ensure all kernel modules are compatible with the target 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-2024-53044 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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