high CVSS 7.8

CVE-2024-40940·Kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5: Fix tainted pointer delete is case of flow rules creation fail In case of flow rule creation fail in mlx5_lag_create_port_sel_table(), instead of previously created rules, the tainted pointer is deleted deveral times. Fix this bug by using correct flow rules pointers. Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with SVACE.

Severity
high
Software
Kernel
Fixed in
6.9.6
Published
2024-07-12

Affected versions

From: 6.7

Until: 6.9.6

Fixed in: 6.9.6

How to fix this CVE

Update your Linux kernel to version 6.9.6 or later to resolve a memory safety issue in the MLX5 network driver where failed flow rule creation could cause repeated deletion of invalid pointers. This patch ensures proper pointer tracking during error handling in the lag port selection table initialization. Apply the update immediately as this affects systems using Mellanox network adapters.

sudo dnf update kernel kernel-devel

Defensia detects this vulnerability

How to check if you are affected

  1. Check your kernel version: uname -r — if the version is between 6.7 and 6.9.5, you are vulnerable
  2. Verify MLX5 driver presence: lspci | grep -i mellanox or ethtool -i eth0 | grep mlx5 to confirm the affected network adapter is in use
  3. Search kernel logs for memory errors: sudo dmesg | grep -i 'use-after-free\|invalid pointer\|null pointer' to detect past exploitation attempts
  4. Confirm patch application: grep -i '6.9.6' /boot/config-$(uname -r) or compare current kernel version after update with uname -r

FAQ

What is CVE-2024-40940?

CVE-2024-40940 is a kernel memory safety vulnerability in the MLX5 network driver where improper pointer management during flow rule creation failure can lead to use-after-free conditions, potentially causing system instability or privilege escalation on systems with Mellanox adapters.

Is CVE-2024-40940 being actively exploited?

No, CVE-2024-40940 is not currently listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog and no public exploits are available. However, the vulnerability still requires patching due to its high CVSS score of 7.8.

What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2024-40940?

Linux kernel versions 6.7 through 6.9.5 are affected. The vulnerability is fixed in kernel 6.9.6 and later releases.

How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2024-40940?

Run 'uname -r' to display your kernel version. If it shows a version between 6.7 and 6.9.5 and you have Mellanox network adapters (confirmed via 'lspci | grep -i mellanox'), your system is vulnerable.

Does Defensia detect CVE-2024-40940?

Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed package versions against the NVD database. If Kernel is installed on a monitored server, CVE-2024-40940 will appear in your dashboard with remediation steps.

Related Kernel CVEs

CVE-2024-42256CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cifs: Fix server re-repick on subrequest retry When a subrequest is marked for needing retry, netfs will call cifs_prepare_write() which will make cifs repick the server for the op before renegotiating credits; it then calls cifs_issue_write() which invokes smb2_async_writev() - which re-repicks the server. If a different server is then selected, this causes the increment of server->in_flight to happen against one record and the decrement to happen against another, leading to misaccounting. Fix this by just removing the repick code in smb2_async_writev(). As this is only called from netfslib-driven code, cifs_prepare_write() should always have been called first, and so server should never be NULL and the preparatory step is repeated in the event that we do a retry. The problem manifests as a warning looking something like: WARNING: CPU: 4 PID: 72896 at fs/smb/client/smb2ops.c:97 smb2_add_credits+0x3f0/0x9e0 [cifs] ... RIP: 0010:smb2_add_credits+0x3f0/0x9e0 [cifs] ... smb2_writev_callback+0x334/0x560 [cifs] cifs_demultiplex_thread+0x77a/0x11b0 [cifs] kthread+0x187/0x1d0 ret_from_fork+0x34/0x60 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 Which may be triggered by a number of different xfstests running against an Azure server in multichannel mode. generic/249 seems the most repeatable, but generic/215, generic/249 and generic/308 may also show it.
CVE-2024-36031CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: keys: Fix overwrite of key expiration on instantiation The expiry time of a key is unconditionally overwritten during instantiation, defaulting to turn it permanent. This causes a problem for DNS resolution as the expiration set by user-space is overwritten to TIME64_MAX, disabling further DNS updates. Fix this by restoring the condition that key_set_expiry is only called when the pre-parser sets a specific expiry.
CVE-2024-38623CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/ntfs3: Use variable length array instead of fixed size Should fix smatch warning: ntfs_set_label() error: __builtin_memcpy() 'uni->name' too small (20 vs 256)
CVE-2024-38612CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv6: sr: fix invalid unregister error path The error path of seg6_init() is wrong in case CONFIG_IPV6_SEG6_LWTUNNEL is not defined. In that case if seg6_hmac_init() fails, the genl_unregister_family() isn't called. This issue exist since commit 46738b1317e1 ("ipv6: sr: add option to control lwtunnel support"), and commit 5559cea2d5aa ("ipv6: sr: fix possible use-after-free and null-ptr-deref") replaced unregister_pernet_subsys() with genl_unregister_family() in this error path.
CVE-2021-47548CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ethernet: hisilicon: hns: hns_dsaf_misc: fix a possible array overflow in hns_dsaf_ge_srst_by_port() The if statement: if (port >= DSAF_GE_NUM) return; limits the value of port less than DSAF_GE_NUM (i.e., 8). However, if the value of port is 6 or 7, an array overflow could occur: port_rst_off = dsaf_dev->mac_cb[port]->port_rst_off; because the length of dsaf_dev->mac_cb is DSAF_MAX_PORT_NUM (i.e., 6). To fix this possible array overflow, we first check port and if it is greater than or equal to DSAF_MAX_PORT_NUM, the function returns.

References

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