high CVSS 7.8

CVE-2024-40996·Kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Avoid splat in pskb_pull_reason syzkaller builds (CONFIG_DEBUG_NET=y) frequently trigger a debug hint in pskb_may_pull. We'd like to retain this debug check because it might hint at integer overflows and other issues (kernel code should pull headers, not huge value). In bpf case, this splat isn't interesting at all: such (nonsensical) bpf programs are typically generated by a fuzzer anyway. Do what Eric suggested and suppress such warning. For CONFIG_DEBUG_NET=n we don't need the extra check because pskb_may_pull will do the right thing: return an error without the WARN() backtrace.

Severity
high
Software
Kernel
Fixed in
6.9.7
Published
2024-07-12

Affected versions

From: 6.9

Until: 6.9.7

Fixed in: 6.9.7

How to fix this CVE

Update your Linux kernel to version 6.9.7 or later to resolve this vulnerability. The fix suppresses unnecessary debug warnings in the BPF subsystem that were triggered by malformed eBPF programs, preventing kernel splat messages without compromising security validation. Systems running kernel versions 6.9 through 6.9.6 should prioritize this update to eliminate false-positive debug alerts.

sudo dnf update kernel kernel-devel

Defensia detects this vulnerability

How to check if you are affected

  1. Check your current kernel version: uname -r
  2. Verify if kernel 6.9.0 through 6.9.6 is installed: grep -i 'CONFIG_DEBUG_NET' /boot/config-$(uname -r) to determine if debug networking is enabled
  3. Search kernel logs for repeated pskb_may_pull warnings: dmesg | grep -i 'pskb_may_pull|pskb_pull_reason' or journalctl -k | grep 'pskb'
  4. Confirm the patch is applied by checking: grep -i 'pskb_pull_reason' /boot/config-$(uname -r) and verifying kernel version is 6.9.7 or later with uname -r

FAQ

What is CVE-2024-40996?

This vulnerability involves excessive debug warnings in the Linux kernel's BPF subsystem when processing malformed eBPF programs. The debug check in pskb_may_pull generates unnecessary kernel splat messages for fuzzer-generated code without adding security value, cluttering logs and hindering legitimate debugging.

Is CVE-2024-40996 being actively exploited?

No, this vulnerability is not listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog and has no public exploits. It is a quality-of-life fix rather than a critical security patch.

What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2024-40996?

Linux kernel versions 6.9.0 through 6.9.6 are affected. Kernel 6.9.7 and later contain the fix.

How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2024-40996?

Run: uname -r | grep -E '6\.9\.[0-6]($|[^0-9])' — if this command returns a match, your kernel is vulnerable. Additionally verify CONFIG_DEBUG_NET is enabled with: grep CONFIG_DEBUG_NET /boot/config-$(uname -r)

Does Defensia detect CVE-2024-40996?

Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed package versions against the NVD database. If the Linux kernel is installed on a monitored server, CVE-2024-40996 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-2024-38612CVSS 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-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-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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