high CVSS 7.8

CVE-2024-42104·Kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nilfs2: add missing check for inode numbers on directory entries Syzbot reported that mounting and unmounting a specific pattern of corrupted nilfs2 filesystem images causes a use-after-free of metadata file inodes, which triggers a kernel bug in lru_add_fn(). As Jan Kara pointed out, this is because the link count of a metadata file gets corrupted to 0, and nilfs_evict_inode(), which is called from iput(), tries to delete that inode (ifile inode in this case). The inconsistency occurs because directories containing the inode numbers of these metadata files that should not be visible in the namespace are read without checking. Fix this issue by treating the inode numbers of these internal files as errors in the sanity check helper when reading directory folios/pages. Also thanks to Hillf Danton and Matthew Wilcox for their initial mm-layer analysis.

Severity
high
Software
Kernel
Fixed in
6.9.9
Published
2024-07-30

Affected versions

From: 6.7

Until: 6.9.9

Fixed in: 6.9.9

How to fix this CVE

Update your Linux kernel to version 6.9.9 or later to address a use-after-free vulnerability in the nilfs2 filesystem driver. This vulnerability can be triggered by mounting a maliciously crafted nilfs2 image, leading to kernel crashes or potential privilege escalation. Ensure your system is patched promptly, especially if you handle untrusted filesystem images or run multi-user environments.

sudo dnf update kernel kernel-devel

Defensia detects this vulnerability

How to check if you are affected

  1. Run 'uname -r' to check your current kernel version; if it reports 6.7 through 6.9.8, your system is vulnerable
  2. Check if nilfs2 filesystem support is enabled with 'grep CONFIG_NILFS2 /boot/config-$(uname -r)'; if set to 'y' or 'm', the component is present
  3. Search kernel logs with 'sudo dmesg | grep -i "use-after-free\|lru_add_fn\|nilfs"' to identify any crash indicators from corrupted nilfs2 images
  4. After updating to kernel 6.9.9+, verify with 'uname -r' and confirm the new version is running after reboot

FAQ

What is CVE-2024-42104?

CVE-2024-42104 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's nilfs2 filesystem driver that occurs when mounting corrupted filesystem images containing invalid inode references. An attacker or user with local access could crash the kernel or potentially escalate privileges by triggering this flaw.

Is CVE-2024-42104 being actively exploited?

No, CVE-2024-42104 is not listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog and no public exploits are available. However, the vulnerability is easily triggerable with a specially crafted filesystem image.

What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2024-42104?

Linux kernel versions 6.7 through 6.9.8 are vulnerable. Version 6.9.9 and later contain the fix.

How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2024-42104?

Run 'uname -r' to display your kernel version. If it shows a version between 6.7 and 6.9.8 inclusive, and nilfs2 support is enabled ('grep CONFIG_NILFS2 /boot/config-$(uname -r)'), your system is vulnerable.

Does Defensia detect CVE-2024-42104?

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-2024-42104 will appear in your dashboard with remediation steps.

Related Kernel CVEs

CVE-2026-100075CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RDMA/srpt: Fix srpt_alloc_rw_ctxs() unwind counters When srpt_alloc_rw_ctxs() fails partway through a multi-buffer indirect descriptor, the unwind path destroys RDMA contexts but leaves stale n_rw_ctx and n_rdma values (and a dangling rw_ctxs pointer). Later sq_wr_avail accounting in srpt_queue_response() or srpt_write_pending() can then subtract the wrong number of send queue credits. Reset the counters and clear rw_ctxs after freeing the heap allocation before returning an error.
CVE-2026-64439CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: crypto: krb5 - filter out async aead implementations at alloc krb5_aead_encrypt(), krb5_aead_decrypt() in rfc3961_simplified.c and rfc8009_encrypt(), rfc8009_decrypt() in rfc8009_aes2.c set a NULL completion callback and treat any negative return from crypto_aead_{encrypt,decrypt}() as terminal, falling through to kfree_sensitive(buffer). When the encrypt_name resolves to an async AEAD instance the request returns -EINPROGRESS, the buffer is freed while the backend's worker still holds a pointer, and the worker dereferences the freed slab on completion. KASAN report under UML+SLUB with a synthetic async aead backend bound to krb5->encrypt_name: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in t5_stub_complete+0x7d/0xc7 The helpers were written synchronously, so filter the async instances out at allocation time instead of plumbing crypto_wait_req() through every call site. Reachable via net/rxrpc/rxgk.c, fs/afs/cm_security.c and net/ceph/crypto.c on systems with an async AEAD provider bound to the krb5 enctype name.
CVE-2026-64066CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfs: Fix netfs_read_to_pagecache() to pause on subreq failure Fix netfs_read_to_pagecache() so that it pauses the generation of new subrequests if an already-issued subrequest fails.
CVE-2026-64383CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smb: client: fix double-free in SMB2_flush() replay SMB2_flush() keeps its response buffer bookkeeping across replay attempts. If a replayable flush response is received and the retry then fails before cifs_send_recv() stores a replacement response, flush_exit will free the stale response pointer a second time. Reinitialize resp_buftype and rsp_iov at the top of the replay loop so cleanup only acts on response state produced by the current attempt. This fixes a double-free without changing replay handling for successful requests.
CVE-2026-64067CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfs: Fix missing barriers when accessing stream->subrequests locklessly The list of subrequests attached to stream->subrequests is accessed without locks by netfs_collect_read_results() and netfs_collect_write_results(), and then they access subreq->flags without taking a barrier after getting the subreq pointer from the list. Relatedly, the functions that build the list don't use any sort of write barrier when constructing the list to make sure that the NETFS_SREQ_IN_PROGRESS flag is perceived to be set first if no lock is taken. Fix this by: (1) Add a new list_add_tail_release() function that uses a release barrier to set the pointer to the new member of the list. (2) Add a new list_first_entry_or_null_acquire() function that uses an acquire barrier to read the pointer to the first member in a list (or return NULL). (3) Use list_add_tail_release() when adding a subreq to ->subrequests. (4) Use list_first_entry_or_null_acquire() when initially accessing the front of the list (when an item is removed, the pointer to the new front iterm is obtained under the same lock).

References

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