Linux Kernel up to 6.6.25/6.8.4 bpf_link_free cookie null pointer dereference

| CVSS Meta Temp Score | Current Exploit Price (≈) | CTI Interest Score |
|---|---|---|
| 5.5 | $0-$5k | 0.00 |
Summary
A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.25/6.8.4. This impacts the function bpf_link_free. Executing a manipulation of the argument cookie can lead to null pointer dereference.
This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2024-35860. No exploit is available.
You should upgrade the affected component.
Details
A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.25/6.8.4. It has been declared as critical. This vulnerability affects the function bpf_link_free. The manipulation of the argument cookie with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-476. A NULL pointer dereference occurs when the application dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid, but is NULL, typically causing a crash or exit. As an impact it is known to affect availability. CVE summarizes:
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: support deferring bpf_link dealloc to after RCU grace period BPF link for some program types is passed as a "context" which can be used by those BPF programs to look up additional information. E.g., for multi-kprobes and multi-uprobes, link is used to fetch BPF cookie values. Because of this runtime dependency, when bpf_link refcnt drops to zero there could still be active BPF programs running accessing link data. This patch adds generic support to defer bpf_link dealloc callback to after RCU GP, if requested. This is done by exposing two different deallocation callbacks, one synchronous and one deferred. If deferred one is provided, bpf_link_free() will schedule dealloc_deferred() callback to happen after RCU GP. BPF is using two flavors of RCU: "classic" non-sleepable one and RCU tasks trace one. The latter is used when sleepable BPF programs are used. bpf_link_free() accommodates that by checking underlying BPF program's sleepable flag, and goes either through normal RCU GP only for non-sleepable, or through RCU tasks trace GP *and* then normal RCU GP (taking into account rcu_trace_implies_rcu_gp() optimization), if BPF program is sleepable. We use this for multi-kprobe and multi-uprobe links, which dereference link during program run. We also preventively switch raw_tp link to use deferred dealloc callback, as upcoming changes in bpf-next tree expose raw_tp link data (specifically, cookie value) to BPF program at runtime as well.
The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2024-35860 since 05/17/2024. The exploitation appears to be easy. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available.
Upgrading to version 6.6.26 or 6.8.5 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 876941f533e7/5d8d44777756/1a80dbcb2dba 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.
VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.
Product
Type
Vendor
Name
Version
- 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
- 6.6.17
- 6.6.18
- 6.6.19
- 6.6.20
- 6.6.21
- 6.6.22
- 6.6.23
- 6.6.24
- 6.6.25
- 6.8.0
- 6.8.1
- 6.8.2
- 6.8.3
- 6.8.4
License
Website
- Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/
CPE 2.3
CPE 2.2
CVSSv4
VulDB Vector: 🔍VulDB Reliability: 🔍
CVSSv3
VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.6VulDB Meta Temp Score: 5.5
VulDB Base Score: 5.7
VulDB Temp Score: 5.5
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍
NVD Base Score: 5.5
NVD Vector: 🔍
CVSSv2
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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍
Exploiting
Class: Null pointer dereferenceCWE: CWE-476 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍
Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Partially
Availability: 🔍
Status: Not defined
EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍
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Threat Intelligence
Interest: 🔍Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍
Countermeasures
Recommended: UpgradeStatus: 🔍
0-Day Time: 🔍
Upgrade: Kernel 6.6.26/6.8.5
Patch: 876941f533e7/5d8d44777756/1a80dbcb2dba
Timeline
05/17/2024 🔍05/19/2024 🔍
05/19/2024 🔍
09/26/2025 🔍
Sources
Vendor: kernel.orgAdvisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed
CVE: CVE-2024-35860 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2024-35860
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-265120
Entry
Created: 05/19/2024 12:56Updated: 09/26/2025 18:24
Changes: 05/19/2024 12:56 (58), 09/26/2025 18:24 (12)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103
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