high CVSS 7.8

CVE-2024-49884·Kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: fix slab-use-after-free in ext4_split_extent_at() We hit the following use-after-free: ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in ext4_split_extent_at+0xba8/0xcc0 Read of size 2 at addr ffff88810548ed08 by task kworker/u20:0/40 CPU: 0 PID: 40 Comm: kworker/u20:0 Not tainted 6.9.0-dirty #724 Call Trace: <TASK> kasan_report+0x93/0xc0 ext4_split_extent_at+0xba8/0xcc0 ext4_split_extent.isra.0+0x18f/0x500 ext4_split_convert_extents+0x275/0x750 ext4_ext_handle_unwritten_extents+0x73e/0x1580 ext4_ext_map_blocks+0xe20/0x2dc0 ext4_map_blocks+0x724/0x1700 ext4_do_writepages+0x12d6/0x2a70 [...] Allocated by task 40: __kmalloc_noprof+0x1ac/0x480 ext4_find_extent+0xf3b/0x1e70 ext4_ext_map_blocks+0x188/0x2dc0 ext4_map_blocks+0x724/0x1700 ext4_do_writepages+0x12d6/0x2a70 [...] Freed by task 40: kfree+0xf1/0x2b0 ext4_find_extent+0xa71/0x1e70 ext4_ext_insert_extent+0xa22/0x3260 ext4_split_extent_at+0x3ef/0xcc0 ext4_split_extent.isra.0+0x18f/0x500 ext4_split_convert_extents+0x275/0x750 ext4_ext_handle_unwritten_extents+0x73e/0x1580 ext4_ext_map_blocks+0xe20/0x2dc0 ext4_map_blocks+0x724/0x1700 ext4_do_writepages+0x12d6/0x2a70 [...] ================================================================== The flow of issue triggering is as follows: ext4_split_extent_at path = *ppath ext4_ext_insert_extent(ppath) ext4_ext_create_new_leaf(ppath) ext4_find_extent(orig_path) path = *orig_path read_extent_tree_block // return -ENOMEM or -EIO ext4_free_ext_path(path) kfree(path) *orig_path = NULL a. If err is -ENOMEM: ext4_ext_dirty(path + path->p_depth) // path use-after-free !!! b. If err is -EIO and we have EXT_DEBUG defined: ext4_ext_show_leaf(path) eh = path[depth].p_hdr // path also use-after-free !!! So when trying to zeroout or fix the extent length, call ext4_find_extent() to update the path. In addition we use *ppath directly as an ext4_ext_show_leaf() input to avoid possible use-after-free when EXT_DEBUG is defined, and to avoid unnecessary path updates.

Severity
high
Software
Kernel
Fixed in
6.11.3
Published
2024-10-21

Affected versions

From: 6.11

Until: 6.11.3

Fixed in: 6.11.3

How to fix this CVE

Update your Linux kernel to version 6.11.3 or later to resolve a use-after-free vulnerability in the ext4 filesystem's extent splitting logic. This vulnerability can lead to kernel panics or memory corruption when the kernel attempts to split file extents during write operations. Apply the kernel update and reboot your system to ensure the fix is active.

sudo dnf update kernel kernel-devel && sudo reboot

Defensia detects this vulnerability

How to check if you are affected

  1. Check your kernel version with: uname -r | grep -E '^6\.11\.[0-2]' (vulnerable if output is shown)
  2. List loaded ext4 kernel modules with: lsmod | grep ext4 to confirm ext4 filesystem support is active
  3. Search system logs for use-after-free KASAN warnings: sudo grep -i 'kasan.*slab-use-after-free\|ext4_split_extent' /var/log/kern.log or journalctl -xe | grep -i 'ext4_split_extent'
  4. Verify the fix by running: uname -r and confirming the version is 6.11.3 or later

FAQ

What is CVE-2024-49884?

CVE-2024-49884 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ext4 filesystem driver that occurs during extent splitting operations. When the kernel fails to allocate memory or encounters I/O errors while splitting file extents, it can access freed memory structures, potentially causing crashes or data corruption.

Is CVE-2024-49884 being actively exploited?

No, CVE-2024-49884 is not listed in CISA's KEV catalog and no public exploits are currently available. However, it is a high-severity vulnerability that requires patching to prevent potential system instability.

What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2024-49884?

Linux kernel versions 6.11.0 through 6.11.2 are vulnerable. The vulnerability was resolved in kernel version 6.11.3.

How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2024-49884?

Run: uname -r and verify your kernel version. If the output shows 6.11.0, 6.11.1, or 6.11.2, your system is vulnerable and requires immediate patching.

Does Defensia detect CVE-2024-49884?

Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed package versions against the NVD database. If Kernel is installed on a monitored server, CVE-2024-49884 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

Track CVEs across your fleet automatically

Defensia scans your Linux servers and tells you exactly which ones are running vulnerable versions — including CVE-2024-49884. Free for 1 server.

Get started free