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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2024-49940: Linux kernel · l2tp: prevent possible tunnel refcount underflow

Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database

0

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High · fixed in 6.11.0-1012.12~24.04.1 : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 28 Oct 2026, 11:13 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
7.8High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
Patch
Available – fixed in 6.11.0-1012.12~24.04.1, 6.11.0-1011.11~24.04.1, 6.11.0-1007.7 +2
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 21 Oct 2024

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSlinuxpkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=nobleOther threatsAffected
  • 6.5.0-9.9 – 6.8.0-147.147
59 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSlinux-awspkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=nobleOther threatsAffected
  • 6.5.0-1008.8 – 6.8.0-1067.70
55 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSlinux-azurepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=nobleOther threatsAffected
  • 6.5.0-1007.7 – 6.8.0-1071.79
46 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSlinux-azure-6.11pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-6.11?arch=source&distro=nobleOther threatsAffected
  • <6.11.0-1012.12~24.04.1
Fixed in
  • 6.11.0-1012.12~24.04.1
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSlinux-azure-fdepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde?arch=source&distro=nobleOther threatsAffected
  • 6.8.0-1041.48 – 6.8.0-1069.76
13 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSlinux-azure-nvidiapkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-nvidia?arch=source&distro=nobleOther threatsAffected
  • 6.8.0-1013.14 – 6.8.0-1039.42
10 affected builds
Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: l2tp: prevent possible tunnel refcount underflow When a session is created, it sets a backpointer to its tunnel. When the session refcount drops to 0, l2tp_session_free drops the tunnel refcount if session->tunnel is non-NULL. However, session->tunnel is set in l2tp_session_create, before the tunnel refcount is incremented by l2tp_session_register, which leaves a small window where session->tunnel is non-NULL when the tunnel refcount hasn't been bumped. Moving the assignment to l2tp_session_register is trivial but l2tp_session_create calls l2tp_session_set_header_len which uses session->tunnel to get the tunnel's encap. Add an encap arg to l2tp_session_set_header_len to avoid using session->tunnel. If l2tpv3 sessions have colliding IDs, it is possible for l2tp_v3_session_get to race with l2tp_session_register and fetch a session which doesn't yet have session->tunnel set. Add a check for this case.

References

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