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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-56693

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-12-28
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.15.174 / 6.1.120 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: brd: defer automatic disk creation until module initialization succeeds My colleague Wupeng found the following problems during fault injection: BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: fffffbfff809d073 PGD 6e648067 P4D 123ec8067 PUD 123ec4067 PMD 100e38067 PTE 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP KASAN NOPTI CPU: 5 UID: 0 PID: 755 Comm: modprobe Not tainted 6.12.0-rc3+ #17 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.1-2.fc37 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:__asan_load8+0x4c/0xa0 ... Call Trace: <TASK> blkdev_put_whole+0x41/0x70 bdev_release+0x1a3/0x250 blkdev_release+0x11/0x20 __fput+0x1d7/0x4a0 task_work_run+0xfc/0x180 syscall_exit_to_user_mode+0x1de/0x1f0 do_syscall_64+0x6b/0x170 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e loop_init() is calling loop_add() after __register_blkdev() succeeds and is ignoring disk_add() failure from loop_add(), for loop_add() failure is not fatal and successfully created disks are already visible to bdev_open(). brd_init() is currently calling brd_alloc() before __register_blkdev() succeeds and is releasing successfully created disks when brd_init() returns an error. This can cause UAF for the latter two case: case 1: T1: modprobe brd brd_init brd_alloc(0) // success add_disk disk_scan_partitions bdev_file_open_by_dev // alloc file fput // won't free until back to userspace brd_alloc(1) // failed since mem alloc error inject // error path for modprobe will release code segment // back to userspace __fput blkdev_release bdev_release blkdev_put_whole bdev->bd_disk->fops->release // fops is freed now, UAF! case 2: T1: T2: modprobe brd brd_init brd_alloc(0) // success open(/dev/ram0) brd_alloc(1) // fail // error path for modprobe close(/dev/ram0) ... /* UAF! */ bdev->bd_disk->fops->release Fix this problem by following what loop_init() does. Besides, reintroduce brd_devices_mutex to help serialize modifications to brd_list.

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:>= 5.14, < 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
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 5.15.174 / 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

6.11.11 (or 6.6.64, 6.1.120, or 5.15.174 depending on your current branch)

  1. Identify the currently running Linux kernel version using 'uname -r'
  2. Based on your current kernel version branch, upgrade to the first fixed release: for 5.14.x-5.15.x upgrade to 5.15.174 or later; for 5.16.x-6.1.x upgrade to 6.1.120 or later; for 6.2.x-6.6.x upgrade to 6.6.64 or later; for 6.7.x-6.11.x upgrade to 6.11.11 or later
  3. Use your distribution's package manager to update the kernel (e.g., apt-get update && apt-get install linux-image-<version>, yum update kernel, or dnf upgrade kernel)
  4. Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
  5. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version and confirming the brd module loads without errors
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require driver/compatibility verification; ensure critical modules are compatible with the target version before production deployment

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

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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-2024-56693 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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