CVE-2024-49875: Vulnerability in Linux Linux

Severity: mediumType: vulnerabilityCVE-2024-49875

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nfsd: map the EBADMSG to nfserr_io to avoid warning Ext4 will throw -EBADMSG through ext4_readdir when a checksum error occurs, resulting in the following WARNING. Fix it by mapping EBADMSG to nfserr_io. nfsd_buffered_readdir iterate_dir // -EBADMSG -74 ext4_readdir // .iterate_shared ext4_dx_readdir ext4_htree_fill_tree htree_dirblock_to_tree ext4_read_dirblock __ext4_read_dirblock ext4_dirblock_csum_verify warn_no_space_for_csum __warn_no_space_for_csum return ERR_PTR(-EFSBADCRC) // -EBADMSG -74 nfserrno // WARNING [ 161.115610] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [ 161.116465] nfsd: non-standard errno: -74 [ 161.117315] WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 780 at fs/nfsd/nfsproc.c:878 nfserrno+0x9d/0xd0 [ 161.118596] Modules linked in: [ 161.119243] CPU: 1 PID: 780 Comm: nfsd Not tainted 5.10.0-00014-g79679361fd5d #138 [ 161.120684] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.14.0-0-g155821a1990b-prebuilt.qe mu.org 04/01/2014 [ 161.123601] RIP: 0010:nfserrno+0x9d/0xd0 [ 161.124676] Code: 0f 87 da 30 dd 00 83 e3 01 b8 00 00 00 05 75 d7 44 89 ee 48 c7 c7 c0 57 24 98 89 44 24 04 c6 05 ce 2b 61 03 01 e8 99 20 d8 00 <0f> 0b 8b 44 24 04 eb b5 4c 89 e6 48 c7 c7 a0 6d a4 99 e8 cc 15 33 [ 161.127797] RSP: 0018:ffffc90000e2f9c0 EFLAGS: 00010286 [ 161.128794] RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 0000000000000000 [ 161.130089] RDX: 1ffff1103ee16f6d RSI: 0000000000000008 RDI: fffff520001c5f2a [ 161.131379] RBP: 0000000000000022 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: ffff8881f70c1827 [ 161.132664] R10: ffffed103ee18304 R11: 0000000000000001 R12: 0000000000000021 [ 161.133949] R13: 00000000ffffffb6 R14: ffff8881317c0000 R15: ffffc90000e2fbd8 [ 161.135244] FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff8881f7080000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [ 161.136695] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [ 161.137761] CR2: 00007fcaad70b348 CR3: 0000000144256006 CR4: 0000000000770ee0 [ 161.139041] DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 [ 161.140291] DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 [ 161.141519] PKRU: 55555554 [ 161.142076] Call Trace: [ 161.142575] ? __warn+0x9b/0x140 [ 161.143229] ? nfserrno+0x9d/0xd0 [ 161.143872] ? report_bug+0x125/0x150 [ 161.144595] ? handle_bug+0x41/0x90 [ 161.145284] ? exc_invalid_op+0x14/0x70 [ 161.146009] ? asm_exc_invalid_op+0x12/0x20 [ 161.146816] ? nfserrno+0x9d/0xd0 [ 161.147487] nfsd_buffered_readdir+0x28b/0x2b0 [ 161.148333] ? nfsd4_encode_dirent_fattr+0x380/0x380 [ 161.149258] ? nfsd_buffered_filldir+0xf0/0xf0 [ 161.150093] ? wait_for_concurrent_writes+0x170/0x170 [ 161.151004] ? generic_file_llseek_size+0x48/0x160 [ 161.151895] nfsd_readdir+0x132/0x190 [ 161.152606] ? nfsd4_encode_dirent_fattr+0x380/0x380 [ 161.153516] ? nfsd_unlink+0x380/0x380 [ 161.154256] ? override_creds+0x45/0x60 [ 161.155006] nfsd4_encode_readdir+0x21a/0x3d0 [ 161.155850] ? nfsd4_encode_readlink+0x210/0x210 [ 161.156731] ? write_bytes_to_xdr_buf+0x97/0xe0 [ 161.157598] ? __write_bytes_to_xdr_buf+0xd0/0xd0 [ 161.158494] ? lock_downgrade+0x90/0x90 [ 161.159232] ? nfs4svc_decode_voidarg+0x10/0x10 [ 161.160092] nfsd4_encode_operation+0x15a/0x440 [ 161.160959] nfsd4_proc_compound+0x718/0xe90 [ 161.161818] nfsd_dispatch+0x18e/0x2c0 [ 161.162586] svc_process_common+0x786/0xc50 [ 161.163403] ? nfsd_svc+0x380/0x380 [ 161.164137] ? svc_printk+0x160/0x160 [ 161.164846] ? svc_xprt_do_enqueue.part.0+0x365/0x380 [ 161.165808] ? nfsd_svc+0x380/0x380 [ 161.166523] ? rcu_is_watching+0x23/0x40 [ 161.167309] svc_process+0x1a5/0x200 [ 161.168019] nfsd+0x1f5/0x380 [ 161.168663] ? nfsd_shutdown_threads+0x260/0x260 [ 161.169554] kthread+0x1c4/0x210 [ 161.170224] ? kthread_insert_work_sanity_check+0x80/0x80 [ 161.171246] ret_from_fork+0x1f/0x30

AI Analysis

Technical Summary

CVE-2024-49875 is a vulnerability identified in the Linux kernel's NFS daemon (nfsd) related to error handling during directory reads on Ext4 filesystems. Specifically, the issue arises when Ext4 encounters a checksum error during a directory read operation (ext4_readdir), which results in the kernel returning an -EBADMSG (-74) error code. This error is not properly mapped within the NFS daemon's error handling code, causing a warning and potentially unexpected behavior. The root cause is that the NFS daemon expects standard NFS error codes but receives a non-standard errno (-74) from Ext4, leading to a kernel warning and potential instability. The fix involves mapping the -EBADMSG error to nfserr_io, a standard NFS I/O error code, to avoid these warnings and ensure proper error propagation. The vulnerability is technical in nature, involving the interaction between the Ext4 filesystem and the NFS server code in the Linux kernel. It manifests as a warning and error propagation issue rather than direct code execution or privilege escalation. The detailed kernel stack trace shows the error flow from ext4_dirblock_csum_verify through various ext4 and nfsd functions, culminating in the warning at nfserrno. This vulnerability affects Linux kernel versions containing the specified commit hashes and is relevant to systems using NFS services backed by Ext4 filesystems. No known exploits are reported in the wild, and no CVSS score has been assigned yet.

Potential Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2024-49875 is primarily related to system stability and reliability rather than direct security breaches such as data leaks or remote code execution. Organizations relying on Linux servers running NFS services with Ext4 filesystems may experience kernel warnings and potential service disruptions when directory reads encounter checksum errors. This could lead to degraded performance or unexpected NFS client errors, impacting file sharing and network storage availability. While the vulnerability does not directly compromise confidentiality or integrity, the resulting instability could affect critical infrastructure, especially in sectors like finance, manufacturing, and government where Linux-based NFS servers are common. Additionally, persistent errors might complicate troubleshooting and increase operational overhead. The lack of known exploits suggests a lower immediate risk, but unpatched systems remain vulnerable to potential future exploitation or cascading failures in complex environments.

Mitigation Recommendations

To mitigate CVE-2024-49875, European organizations should: 1) Apply the latest Linux kernel patches that address this issue as soon as they become available from trusted Linux distributions or the kernel mainline. 2) Monitor kernel logs for warnings related to nfsd and Ext4 checksum errors to detect early signs of the problem. 3) Implement filesystem integrity monitoring and regular checksums on Ext4 volumes to proactively identify and repair corrupted directory blocks that could trigger this error. 4) Consider deploying redundant NFS servers or failover mechanisms to minimize service disruption in case of instability. 5) Review and harden NFS configurations, including limiting access to trusted clients and enforcing strict authentication to reduce attack surface. 6) Maintain up-to-date backups of critical data to recover from potential filesystem corruption. 7) Engage with Linux vendor support channels for guidance on kernel updates and backported fixes relevant to their environment. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on proactive filesystem health management and operational resilience in NFS deployments.