Linux Kernel up to 6.9.5 huge_memory unpoison_memory reference count

| CVSS Meta Temp Score | Current Exploit Price (≈) | CTI Interest Score |
|---|---|---|
| 4.9 | $0-$5k | 0.00 |
Summary
A vulnerability described as problematic has been identified in Linux Kernel up to 6.9.5. This affects the function unpoison_memory of the component huge_memory. The manipulation results in reference count.
This vulnerability is known as CVE-2024-40914. No exploit is available.
Upgrading the affected component is recommended.
Details
A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.9.5. Affected is the function unpoison_memory of the component huge_memory. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a reference count vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-911. The product uses a reference count to manage a resource, but it does not update or incorrectly updates the reference count. The impact remains unknown. CVE summarizes:
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/huge_memory: don't unpoison huge_zero_folio When I did memory failure tests recently, below panic occurs: kernel BUG at include/linux/mm.h:1135! invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP NOPTI CPU: 9 PID: 137 Comm: kswapd1 Not tainted 6.9.0-rc4-00491-gd5ce28f156fe-dirty #14 RIP: 0010:shrink_huge_zero_page_scan+0x168/0x1a0 RSP: 0018:ffff9933c6c57bd0 EFLAGS: 00000246 RAX: 000000000000003e RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: ffff88f61fc5c9c8 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000027 RDI: ffff88f61fc5c9c0 RBP: ffffcd7c446b0000 R08: ffffffff9a9405f0 R09: 0000000000005492 R10: 00000000000030ea R11: ffffffff9a9405f0 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: 0000000000000000 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: ffff88e703c4ac00 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff88f61fc40000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 000055f4da6e9878 CR3: 0000000c71048000 CR4: 00000000000006f0 Call Trace: do_shrink_slab+0x14f/0x6a0 shrink_slab+0xca/0x8c0 shrink_node+0x2d0/0x7d0 balance_pgdat+0x33a/0x720 kswapd+0x1f3/0x410 kthread+0xd5/0x100 ret_from_fork+0x2f/0x50 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 Modules linked in: mce_inject hwpoison_inject ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- RIP: 0010:shrink_huge_zero_page_scan+0x168/0x1a0 RSP: 0018:ffff9933c6c57bd0 EFLAGS: 00000246 RAX: 000000000000003e RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: ffff88f61fc5c9c8 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000027 RDI: ffff88f61fc5c9c0 RBP: ffffcd7c446b0000 R08: ffffffff9a9405f0 R09: 0000000000005492 R10: 00000000000030ea R11: ffffffff9a9405f0 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: 0000000000000000 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: ffff88e703c4ac00 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff88f61fc40000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 000055f4da6e9878 CR3: 0000000c71048000 CR4: 00000000000006f0 The root cause is that HWPoison flag will be set for huge_zero_folio without increasing the folio refcnt. But then unpoison_memory() will decrease the folio refcnt unexpectedly as it appears like a successfully hwpoisoned folio leading to VM_BUG_ON_PAGE(page_ref_count(page) == 0) when releasing huge_zero_folio. Skip unpoisoning huge_zero_folio in unpoison_memory() to fix this issue. We're not prepared to unpoison huge_zero_folio yet.
The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2024-40914 since 07/12/2024. The exploitability is told to be difficult. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit.
The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 207738 (Ubuntu 20.04 LTS : Linux kernel vulnerabilities (USN-7009-2)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.
Upgrading to version 5.15.162, 5.18, 6.1.95, 6.6.35 or 6.9.6 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 688bb46ad339/b2494506f306/0d73477af964/d72b7711919d/fe6f86f4b408 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 vulnerability database at Tenable (207738). If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Product
Type
Vendor
Name
Version
- 5.0
- 5.1
- 5.2
- 5.3
- 5.4
- 5.5
- 5.6
- 5.7
- 5.8
- 5.9
- 5.10
- 5.11
- 5.12
- 5.13
- 5.14
- 5.15
- 5.15.161
- 5.16
- 5.17
- 5.18
- 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
- 6.1.78
- 6.1.79
- 6.1.80
- 6.1.81
- 6.1.82
- 6.1.83
- 6.1.84
- 6.1.85
- 6.1.86
- 6.1.87
- 6.1.88
- 6.1.89
- 6.1.90
- 6.1.91
- 6.1.92
- 6.1.93
- 6.1.94
- 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
- 6.6.26
- 6.6.27
- 6.6.28
- 6.6.29
- 6.6.30
- 6.6.31
- 6.6.32
- 6.6.33
- 6.6.34
- 6.9.0
- 6.9.1
- 6.9.2
- 6.9.3
- 6.9.4
- 6.9.5
License
Website
- Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/
CPE 2.3
CPE 2.2
CVSSv4
VulDB Vector: 🔍VulDB Reliability: 🔍
CVSSv3
VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.0VulDB Meta Temp Score: 4.9
VulDB Base Score: 4.6
VulDB Temp Score: 4.4
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍
NVD Base Score: 5.5
NVD Vector: 🔍
CVSSv2
| AV | AC | Au | C | I | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 |
| 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 |
| 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 |
| Vector | Complexity | Authentication | Confidentiality | Integrity | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock |
| Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock |
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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍
Exploiting
Class: Reference countCWE: CWE-911 / CWE-664
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍
Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Partially
Availability: 🔍
Status: Not defined
EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍
| 0-Day | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock |
Nessus ID: 207738
Nessus Name: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS : Linux kernel vulnerabilities (USN-7009-2)
Threat Intelligence
Interest: 🔍Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍
Countermeasures
Recommended: UpgradeStatus: 🔍
0-Day Time: 🔍
Upgrade: Kernel 5.15.162/5.18/6.1.95/6.6.35/6.9.6
Patch: 688bb46ad339/b2494506f306/0d73477af964/d72b7711919d/fe6f86f4b408
Timeline
07/12/2024 🔍07/12/2024 🔍
07/12/2024 🔍
10/03/2025 🔍
Sources
Vendor: kernel.orgAdvisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed
CVE: CVE-2024-40914 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2024-40914
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-271290
Entry
Created: 07/12/2024 16:56Updated: 10/03/2025 16:44
Changes: 07/12/2024 16:56 (58), 09/30/2024 02:15 (2), 10/03/2025 16:44 (12)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
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