Linux Kernel up to 6.6.40/6.9.9 crst_table_free null pointer dereference

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.40/6.9.9. It has been rated as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function crst_table_free. This manipulation causes null pointer dereference. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2024-42235. There is no exploit available. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.40/6.9.9. Affected by this vulnerability is the function crst_table_free. The manipulation 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. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: s390/mm: Add NULL pointer check to crst_table_free() base_crst_free() crst_table_free() used to work with NULL pointers before the conversion to ptdescs. Since crst_table_free() can be called with a NULL pointer (error handling in crst_table_upgrade() add an explicit check. Also add the same check to base_crst_free() for consistency reasons. In real life this should not happen, since order two GFP_KERNEL allocations will not fail, unless FAIL_PAGE_ALLOC is enabled and used.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2024-42235 since 07/30/2024. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 210060 (Ubuntu 22.04 LTS / 24.04 LTS : Linux kernel kernel vulnerabilities (USN-7089-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.6.41 or 6.9.10 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 794fa52b9463/f80bd8bb6f38/b5efb63acf7b 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 (210060). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

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
• 6.6.26
• 6.6.27
• 6.6.28
• 6.6.29
• 6.6.30
• 6.6.31
• 6.6.32
• 6.6.33
• 6.6.34
• 6.6.35
• 6.6.36
• 6.6.37
• 6.6.38
• 6.6.39
• 6.6.40
• 6.9.0
• 6.9.1
• 6.9.2
• 6.9.3
• 6.9.4
• 6.9.5
• 6.9.6
• 6.9.7
• 6.9.8
• 6.9.9

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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Entryinfo

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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