Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-56642

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-12-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.4.287 / 5.10.231 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: tipc: Fix use-after-free of kernel socket in cleanup_bearer(). syzkaller reported a use-after-free of UDP kernel socket in cleanup_bearer() without repro. [0][1] When bearer_disable() calls tipc_udp_disable(), cleanup of the UDP kernel socket is deferred by work calling cleanup_bearer(). tipc_exit_net() waits for such works to finish by checking tipc_net(net)->wq_count. However, the work decrements the count too early before releasing the kernel socket, unblocking cleanup_net() and resulting in use-after-free. Let's move the decrement after releasing the socket in cleanup_bearer(). [0]: ref_tracker: net notrefcnt@000000009b3d1faf has 1/1 users at sk_alloc+0x438/0x608 inet_create+0x4c8/0xcb0 __sock_create+0x350/0x6b8 sock_create_kern+0x58/0x78 udp_sock_create4+0x68/0x398 udp_sock_create+0x88/0xc8 tipc_udp_enable+0x5e8/0x848 __tipc_nl_bearer_enable+0x84c/0xed8 tipc_nl_bearer_enable+0x38/0x60 genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0x170/0x248 genl_rcv_msg+0x400/0x5b0 netlink_rcv_skb+0x1dc/0x398 genl_rcv+0x44/0x68 netlink_unicast+0x678/0x8b0 netlink_sendmsg+0x5e4/0x898 ____sys_sendmsg+0x500/0x830 [1]: BUG: KMSAN: use-after-free in udp_hashslot include/net/udp.h:85 [inline] BUG: KMSAN: use-after-free in udp_lib_unhash+0x3b8/0x930 net/ipv4/udp.c:1979 udp_hashslot include/net/udp.h:85 [inline] udp_lib_unhash+0x3b8/0x930 net/ipv4/udp.c:1979 sk_common_release+0xaf/0x3f0 net/core/sock.c:3820 inet_release+0x1e0/0x260 net/ipv4/af_inet.c:437 inet6_release+0x6f/0xd0 net/ipv6/af_inet6.c:489 __sock_release net/socket.c:658 [inline] sock_release+0xa0/0x210 net/socket.c:686 cleanup_bearer+0x42d/0x4c0 net/tipc/udp_media.c:819 process_one_work kernel/workqueue.c:3229 [inline] process_scheduled_works+0xcaf/0x1c90 kernel/workqueue.c:3310 worker_thread+0xf6c/0x1510 kernel/workqueue.c:3391 kthread+0x531/0x6b0 kernel/kthread.c:389 ret_from_fork+0x60/0x80 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:147 ret_from_fork_asm+0x11/0x20 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:244 Uninit was created at: slab_free_hook mm/slub.c:2269 [inline] slab_free mm/slub.c:4580 [inline] kmem_cache_free+0x207/0xc40 mm/slub.c:4682 net_free net/core/net_namespace.c:454 [inline] cleanup_net+0x16f2/0x19d0 net/core/net_namespace.c:647 process_one_work kernel/workqueue.c:3229 [inline] process_scheduled_works+0xcaf/0x1c90 kernel/workqueue.c:3310 worker_thread+0xf6c/0x1510 kernel/workqueue.c:3391 kthread+0x531/0x6b0 kernel/kthread.c:389 ret_from_fork+0x60/0x80 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:147 ret_from_fork_asm+0x11/0x20 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:244 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 54 Comm: kworker/0:2 Not tainted 6.12.0-rc1-00131-gf66ebf37d69c #7 91723d6f74857f70725e1583cba3cf4adc716cfa Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.16.3-0-ga6ed6b701f0a-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 Workqueue: events cleanup_bearer

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:>= 4.2, < 5.4.287>= 5.5, < 5.10.231>= 5.11, < 5.15.174>= 5.16, < 6.1.120>= 6.2, < 6.6.66>= 6.7, < 6.12.5= 6.13

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 5.4.287 / 5.10.231 / 5.15.174 or later
Fixed in 5.4.2875.10.2315.15.174
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Linux kernel 5.4.287, 5.10.231, 5.15.174, or 6.1.120 (or later stable release) depending on your current branch

  1. Identify the current Linux kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Determine which kernel release branch you are running (e.g., 5.4.x, 5.10.x, 5.15.x, or 6.1.x)
  3. Upgrade the Linux kernel to the fixed version for your branch: 5.4.287, 5.10.231, 5.15.174, or 6.1.120 or later
  4. Reboot the system to load the updated kernel
  5. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version with `uname -r` and confirming it matches or exceeds the fixed version for your branch
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuild of out-of-tree modules; ensure compatibility of third-party drivers with the new kernel 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 $3,200. Get the upgrade done

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2024-56642 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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