Linux Kernel up to 6.1.77/6.6.16/6.7.4/6.8-rc2 ext4 mb_regenerate_buddy use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as critical has been reported in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.77/6.6.16/6.7.4/6.8-rc2. Impacted is the function mb_regenerate_buddy of the component ext4. The manipulation leads to use after free. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2024-26601. There is no exploit available. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.77/6.6.16/6.7.4/6.8-rc2 (Operating System). It has been rated as critical. This issue affects the function mb_regenerate_buddy of the component ext4. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: regenerate buddy after block freeing failed if under fc replay This mostly reverts commit 6bd97bf273bd ("ext4: remove redundant mb_regenerate_buddy()") and reintroduces mb_regenerate_buddy(). Based on code in mb_free_blocks(), fast commit replay can end up marking as free blocks that are already marked as such. This causes corruption of the buddy bitmap so we need to regenerate it in that case.

The weakness was shared 02/25/2024. It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2024-26601 since 02/19/2024. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 12/04/2025).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 210815 (RHEL 9 : kernel (RHSA-2024:9315)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.1.78, 6.6.17, 6.7.5 or 6.8-rc3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 78327acd4cdc/ea42d6cffb0d/6b0d48647935/c9b528c35795 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (210815) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-1293). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Ubuntu Linux
• IBM DataPower Gateway

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.1.0
• 6.1.1
• 6.1.2
• 6.1.3
• 6.1.4
• 6.1.5
• 6.1.6
• 6.1.7
• 6.1.8
• 6.1.9
• 6.1.10
• 6.1.11
• 6.1.12
• 6.1.13
• 6.1.14
• 6.1.15
• 6.1.16
• 6.1.17
• 6.1.18
• 6.1.19
• 6.1.20
• 6.1.21
• 6.1.22
• 6.1.23
• 6.1.24
• 6.1.25
• 6.1.26
• 6.1.27
• 6.1.28
• 6.1.29
• 6.1.30
• 6.1.31
• 6.1.32
• 6.1.33
• 6.1.34
• 6.1.35
• 6.1.36
• 6.1.37
• 6.1.38
• 6.1.39
• 6.1.40
• 6.1.41
• 6.1.42
• 6.1.43
• 6.1.44
• 6.1.45
• 6.1.46
• 6.1.47
• 6.1.48
• 6.1.49
• 6.1.50
• 6.1.51
• 6.1.52
• 6.1.53
• 6.1.54
• 6.1.55
• 6.1.56
• 6.1.57
• 6.1.58
• 6.1.59
• 6.1.60
• 6.1.61
• 6.1.62
• 6.1.63
• 6.1.64
• 6.1.65
• 6.1.66
• 6.1.67
• 6.1.68
• 6.1.69
• 6.1.70
• 6.1.71
• 6.1.72
• 6.1.73
• 6.1.74
• 6.1.75
• 6.1.76
• 6.1.77
• 6.6.0
• 6.6.1
• 6.6.2
• 6.6.3
• 6.6.4
• 6.6.5
• 6.6.6
• 6.6.7
• 6.6.8
• 6.6.9
• 6.6.10
• 6.6.11
• 6.6.12
• 6.6.13
• 6.6.14
• 6.6.15
• 6.6.16
• 6.7.0
• 6.7.1
• 6.7.2
• 6.7.3
• 6.7.4
• 6.8-rc1
• 6.8-rc2

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

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