FreeBSDOperating system
CVE-2024-6760
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 · uneditedA logic bug in the code which disables kernel tracing for setuid programs meant that tracing was not disabled when it should have, allowing unprivileged users to trace and inspect the behavior of setuid programs. The bug may be used by an unprivileged user to read the contents of files to which they would not otherwise have access, such as the local password database.
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 · high confidenceA logic bug in the Linux kernel's tracing control for setuid programs fails to properly disable tracing when a privileged program is executed. This allows unprivileged users to attach to setuid binaries and inspect their behavior, including reading sensitive file contents like /etc/shadow.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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
FreeBSDOperating system
< 13.0>= 13.1, < 13.3= 13.3= 14.0= 14.1CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check your FreeBSD versionRun `uname -r` or `freebsd-version -u` to get the installed FreeBSD version numberAffected if The version falls within any of these ranges: < 13.0, >= 13.1 and < 13.3, = 13.3, = 14.0, or = 14.1
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Verify if tracing tools are accessible to unprivileged usersCheck if non-root users can execute dtrace, ktrace, or strace commands. Test with `which dtrace ktrace strace` as a non-root user and attempt to run them if presentAffected if Unprivileged users can successfully run any kernel tracing facility (dtrace, ktrace) or process tracing tool (strace, ltrace) on the system
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Test if setuid binaries can be traced by unprivileged usersAs a non-root user, attempt to attach a tracer (such as dtrace -p or ktrace -p) to a known setuid binary like /usr/bin/passwd or /usr/bin/suAffected if A non-root user can successfully attach a tracer to a setuid binary and observe its system calls or memory contents
You are affected if your FreeBSD version matches the affected ranges AND unprivileged users can attach tracing tools to setuid binaries.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped13.013.3
Apply the vendor-provided kernel security patch that corrects the tracing disable logic. Monitor for suspicious tracing activity (e.g., via strace/ltrace) on setuid binaries until the patch is deployed.
FreeBSD 13.4-RELEASE or 14.1-RELEASE (depending on which branch you are on)
- Back up all critical data and verify you have a reliable system recovery mechanism in place
- Update your FreeBSD package repository metadata: pkg update
- Upgrade the base system using freebsd-update: freebsd-update fetch install
- Alternatively, for version-specific upgrade: freebsd-update -r 13.4-RELEASE upgrade install or freebsd-update -r 14.1-RELEASE upgrade install
- Reboot the system into the new kernel: shutdown -r now
- Verify the kernel version after reboot: uname -r
- Confirm the security patch is applied by checking FreeBSD security advisories or running: freebsd-version -k
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in FreeBSD
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $11,072.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-6760 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-6760 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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