CVE-2024-44959: Vulnerability in Linux Linux

Severity: highType: vulnerabilityCVE-2024-44959

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tracefs: Use generic inode RCU for synchronizing freeing With structure layout randomization enabled for 'struct inode' we need to avoid overlapping any of the RCU-used / initialized-only-once members, e.g. i_lru or i_sb_list to not corrupt related list traversals when making use of the rcu_head. For an unlucky structure layout of 'struct inode' we may end up with the following splat when running the ftrace selftests: [<...>] list_del corruption, ffff888103ee2cb0->next (tracefs_inode_cache+0x0/0x4e0 [slab object]) is NULL (prev is tracefs_inode_cache+0x78/0x4e0 [slab object]) [<...>] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [<...>] kernel BUG at lib/list_debug.c:54! [<...>] invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP KASAN [<...>] CPU: 3 PID: 2550 Comm: mount Tainted: G N 6.8.12-grsec+ #122 ed2f536ca62f28b087b90e3cc906a8d25b3ddc65 [<...>] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.14.0-2 04/01/2014 [<...>] RIP: 0010:[<ffffffff84656018>] __list_del_entry_valid_or_report+0x138/0x3e0 [<...>] Code: 48 b8 99 fb 65 f2 ff ff ff ff e9 03 5c d9 fc cc 48 b8 99 fb 65 f2 ff ff ff ff e9 33 5a d9 fc cc 48 b8 99 fb 65 f2 ff ff ff ff <0f> 0b 4c 89 e9 48 89 ea 48 89 ee 48 c7 c7 60 8f dd 89 31 c0 e8 2f [<...>] RSP: 0018:fffffe80416afaf0 EFLAGS: 00010283 [<...>] RAX: 0000000000000098 RBX: ffff888103ee2cb0 RCX: 0000000000000000 [<...>] RDX: ffffffff84655fe8 RSI: ffffffff89dd8b60 RDI: 0000000000000001 [<...>] RBP: ffff888103ee2cb0 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: fffffbd0082d5f25 [<...>] R10: fffffe80416af92f R11: 0000000000000001 R12: fdf99c16731d9b6d [<...>] R13: 0000000000000000 R14: ffff88819ad4b8b8 R15: 0000000000000000 [<...>] RBX: tracefs_inode_cache+0x0/0x4e0 [slab object] [<...>] RDX: __list_del_entry_valid_or_report+0x108/0x3e0 [<...>] RSI: __func__.47+0x4340/0x4400 [<...>] RBP: tracefs_inode_cache+0x0/0x4e0 [slab object] [<...>] RSP: process kstack fffffe80416afaf0+0x7af0/0x8000 [mount 2550 2550] [<...>] R09: kasan shadow of process kstack fffffe80416af928+0x7928/0x8000 [mount 2550 2550] [<...>] R10: process kstack fffffe80416af92f+0x792f/0x8000 [mount 2550 2550] [<...>] R14: tracefs_inode_cache+0x78/0x4e0 [slab object] [<...>] FS: 00006dcb380c1840(0000) GS:ffff8881e0600000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [<...>] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [<...>] CR2: 000076ab72b30e84 CR3: 000000000b088004 CR4: 0000000000360ef0 shadow CR4: 0000000000360ef0 [<...>] DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 [<...>] DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 [<...>] ASID: 0003 [<...>] Stack: [<...>] ffffffff818a2315 00000000f5c856ee ffffffff896f1840 ffff888103ee2cb0 [<...>] ffff88812b6b9750 0000000079d714b6 fffffbfff1e9280b ffffffff8f49405f [<...>] 0000000000000001 0000000000000000 ffff888104457280 ffffffff8248b392 [<...>] Call Trace: [<...>] <TASK> [<...>] [<ffffffff818a2315>] ? lock_release+0x175/0x380 fffffe80416afaf0 [<...>] [<ffffffff8248b392>] list_lru_del+0x152/0x740 fffffe80416afb48 [<...>] [<ffffffff8248ba93>] list_lru_del_obj+0x113/0x280 fffffe80416afb88 [<...>] [<ffffffff8940fd19>] ? _atomic_dec_and_lock+0x119/0x200 fffffe80416afb90 [<...>] [<ffffffff8295b244>] iput_final+0x1c4/0x9a0 fffffe80416afbb8 [<...>] [<ffffffff8293a52b>] dentry_unlink_inode+0x44b/0xaa0 fffffe80416afbf8 [<...>] [<ffffffff8293fefc>] __dentry_kill+0x23c/0xf00 fffffe80416afc40 [<...>] [<ffffffff8953a85f>] ? __this_cpu_preempt_check+0x1f/0xa0 fffffe80416afc48 [<...>] [<ffffffff82949ce5>] ? shrink_dentry_list+0x1c5/0x760 fffffe80416afc70 [<...>] [<ffffffff82949b71>] ? shrink_dentry_list+0x51/0x760 fffffe80416afc78 [<...>] [<ffffffff82949da8>] shrink_dentry_list+0x288/0x760 fffffe80416afc80 [<...>] [<ffffffff8294ae75>] shrink_dcache_sb+0x155/0x420 fffffe80416afcc8 [<...>] [<ffffffff8953a7c3>] ? debug_smp_processor_id+0x23/0xa0 fffffe80416afce0 [<...>] [<ffffffff8294ad20>] ? do_one_tre ---truncated---

AI Analysis

Technical Summary

CVE-2024-44959 is a vulnerability identified in the Linux kernel related to the tracefs filesystem and its handling of the 'struct inode' data structure under conditions where structure layout randomization is enabled. The issue arises from improper synchronization when freeing inodes using Read-Copy-Update (RCU) mechanisms. Specifically, the vulnerability concerns overlapping RCU-used or initialized-only-once members within 'struct inode', such as i_lru or i_sb_list, which can lead to corruption of linked list traversals. This corruption manifests as kernel panics or BUGs, as demonstrated by the list_del corruption and invalid opcode errors observed during ftrace selftests. The problem is triggered by unlucky structure layouts of 'struct inode' that cause the kernel to attempt to free or manipulate corrupted list entries, leading to system instability or crashes. The vulnerability affects certain Linux kernel versions identified by specific commit hashes and has been addressed by modifying the inode freeing synchronization to use a generic inode RCU approach, preventing overlapping and corruption. Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the vulnerability can cause denial of service (DoS) through kernel crashes, impacting system availability. The vulnerability does not require user interaction but may require privileged operations to trigger, such as mounting filesystems or running specific kernel selftests. No CVSS score has been assigned yet, but the technical details indicate a significant risk to kernel stability.

Potential Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2024-44959 is the potential for denial of service due to kernel panics or crashes on Linux systems running affected kernel versions. This can disrupt critical infrastructure, servers, and services relying on Linux, including cloud environments, data centers, and embedded systems. Organizations utilizing Linux kernels with structure layout randomization enabled, especially those running custom or grsecurity-patched kernels, may experience unexpected system outages. The vulnerability could affect operational continuity, leading to downtime and potential financial losses. Although no direct privilege escalation or remote code execution is indicated, the instability caused by this vulnerability could be exploited as part of a broader attack chain or targeted disruption. European sectors with high Linux usage such as telecommunications, finance, public administration, and manufacturing could be particularly impacted. Additionally, organizations running virtualized environments or QEMU-based systems (as indicated in the example hardware) may also be vulnerable. The lack of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the need for prompt mitigation to maintain system reliability and security posture.

Mitigation Recommendations

1. Apply the official Linux kernel patches that address CVE-2024-44959 as soon as they become available from trusted sources or Linux distributions. 2. For organizations using custom kernels or security-enhanced kernels (e.g., grsecurity), ensure that these patches are backported and tested thoroughly before deployment. 3. Disable structure layout randomization for 'struct inode' if feasible in environments where stability is critical and patching is delayed, as a temporary workaround. 4. Monitor kernel logs and system behavior for signs of list corruption or kernel panics related to inode operations, especially during filesystem mounts or heavy inode usage. 5. Implement robust system monitoring and automated recovery mechanisms to minimize downtime in case of kernel crashes. 6. Coordinate with Linux distribution vendors and security teams to track updates and advisories related to this vulnerability. 7. Avoid running untrusted or experimental kernel selftests in production environments until patches are applied. 8. For virtualized environments, ensure hypervisor and guest kernel versions are updated to prevent cascading failures.