Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-53215

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-12-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.15.174 / 6.1.120 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: svcrdma: fix miss destroy percpu_counter in svc_rdma_proc_init() There's issue as follows: RPC: Registered rdma transport module. RPC: Registered rdma backchannel transport module. RPC: Unregistered rdma transport module. RPC: Unregistered rdma backchannel transport module. BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: fffffbfff80c609a PGD 123fee067 P4D 123fee067 PUD 123fea067 PMD 10c624067 PTE 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP KASAN NOPTI RIP: 0010:percpu_counter_destroy_many+0xf7/0x2a0 Call Trace: <TASK> __die+0x1f/0x70 page_fault_oops+0x2cd/0x860 spurious_kernel_fault+0x36/0x450 do_kern_addr_fault+0xca/0x100 exc_page_fault+0x128/0x150 asm_exc_page_fault+0x26/0x30 percpu_counter_destroy_many+0xf7/0x2a0 mmdrop+0x209/0x350 finish_task_switch.isra.0+0x481/0x840 schedule_tail+0xe/0xd0 ret_from_fork+0x23/0x80 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 </TASK> If register_sysctl() return NULL, then svc_rdma_proc_cleanup() will not destroy the percpu counters which init in svc_rdma_proc_init(). If CONFIG_HOTPLUG_CPU is enabled, residual nodes may be in the 'percpu_counters' list. The above issue may occur once the module is removed. If the CONFIG_HOTPLUG_CPU configuration is not enabled, memory leakage occurs. To solve above issue just destroy all percpu counters when register_sysctl() return NULL.

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-401

Allocated memory is never released on some path, so a long-running service or a repeatedly triggered request steadily consumes memory until performance degrades or the process crashes. Attackers exploit it by simply driving the leaking path. Remediation is pairing every allocation with a release and using ownership patterns or tooling to catch what leaks.

General guidance for the memory leak 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:>= 5.12, < 5.15.174>= 5.16, < 6.1.120>= 6.2, < 6.6.64>= 6.7, < 6.11.11>= 6.12, < 6.12.2

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 5.15.174 / 6.1.120 / 6.6.64 or later
Fixed in 5.15.1746.1.1206.6.64
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Kernel version >= 5.15.174, >= 6.1.120, >= 6.6.64, or >= 6.11.11 depending on your current branch

  1. Identify the current running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Check which version range your current kernel falls into from the affected versions: >= 5.12 && < 5.15.174, >= 5.16 && < 6.1.120, >= 6.2 && < 6.6.64, or >= 6.7 && < 6.11.11
  3. Upgrade the kernel to a fixed release: 5.15.174 or later (for 5.15.x), 6.1.120 or later (for 6.1.x), 6.6.64 or later (for 6.6.x), or 6.11.11 or later (for 6.7.x and 6.8.x)
  4. Reboot into the new kernel
  5. Verify the fix is present by checking the kernel version and confirming no memory leaks in the svcrdma module
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require matching distribution-specific configurations and could introduce changes to other subsystems; ensure compatibility with system hardware and required 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 $1,600. Get the upgrade done

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-53215 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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-2024-53215 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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