high CVSS 7

CVE-2024-53186·Kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: fix use-after-free in SMB request handling A race condition exists between SMB request handling in `ksmbd_conn_handler_loop()` and the freeing of `ksmbd_conn` in the workqueue handler `handle_ksmbd_work()`. This leads to a UAF. - KASAN: slab-use-after-free Read in handle_ksmbd_work - KASAN: slab-use-after-free in rtlock_slowlock_locked This race condition arises as follows: - `ksmbd_conn_handler_loop()` waits for `conn->r_count` to reach zero: `wait_event(conn->r_count_q, atomic_read(&conn->r_count) == 0);` - Meanwhile, `handle_ksmbd_work()` decrements `conn->r_count` using `atomic_dec_return(&conn->r_count)`, and if it reaches zero, calls `ksmbd_conn_free()`, which frees `conn`. - However, after `handle_ksmbd_work()` decrements `conn->r_count`, it may still access `conn->r_count_q` in the following line: `waitqueue_active(&conn->r_count_q)` or `wake_up(&conn->r_count_q)` This results in a UAF, as `conn` has already been freed. The discovery of this UAF can be referenced in the following PR for syzkaller's support for SMB requests.

Severity
high
Software
Kernel
Fixed in
6.12.2
Published
2024-12-27

Affected versions

From: 6.12

Until: 6.12.2

Fixed in: 6.12.2

How to fix this CVE

Update your Linux kernel to version 6.12.2 or later to resolve a critical use-after-free vulnerability in the ksmbd SMB server component. This race condition could allow local attackers with kernel-level access to trigger memory corruption through specially timed SMB requests. Prioritize this patch for systems exposing SMB services, particularly in file server and NAS deployments.

sudo dnf update kernel kernel-devel

Defensia detects this vulnerability

How to check if you are affected

  1. Check kernel version: uname -r — Vulnerable if output shows 6.12.0, 6.12.1, or 6.12.2 before the patch date
  2. Verify ksmbd is loaded: lsmod | grep ksmbd — If output is empty, ksmbd is not active; if present, the system is potentially exposed
  3. Search kernel logs for UAF indicators: sudo dmesg | grep -iE 'use-after-free|ksmbd|rtlock_slowlock' — Look for KASAN reports mentioning handle_ksmbd_work
  4. Confirm patch application: grep -i 'CONFIG_SMB_SERVER' /boot/config-$(uname -r) — Should show CONFIG_SMB_SERVER=m or CONFIG_SMB_SERVER=y; then verify kernel build timestamp is after the fix commit date

FAQ

What is CVE-2024-53186?

CVE-2024-53186 is a use-after-free (UAF) vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ksmbd SMB server that arises from improper synchronization between the request handler loop and the workqueue handler, allowing memory corruption after freeing connection structures.

Is CVE-2024-53186 being actively exploited?

No, CVE-2024-53186 is not listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog and no public exploits are currently available, though the vulnerability requires local access to trigger.

What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2024-53186?

Linux kernel versions 6.12.0, 6.12.1, and 6.12.2 (prior to the patch) are affected; the vulnerability was patched in kernel 6.12.2+ with commits 96261adb998a, 9a8c5d89d327, a96f9eb7add3, and f20b77f7897e.

How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2024-53186?

Run uname -r and compare the output against the affected version range (6.12.0–6.12.2); then verify ksmbd is enabled with lsmod | grep ksmbd to determine exposure.

Does Defensia detect CVE-2024-53186?

Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed package versions against the NVD database. If Linux kernel is installed on a monitored server, CVE-2024-53186 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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