Linux Kernel up to 6.1.116/6.6.60/6.11.7 Signal inc_rlimit_get_ucounts comparison

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as problematic has been reported in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.116/6.6.60/6.11.7. Affected by this vulnerability is the function inc_rlimit_get_ucounts of the component Signal Handler. The manipulation leads to comparison. This vulnerability is referenced as CVE-2024-50271. No exploit is available. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.116/6.6.60/6.11.7. It has been rated as problematic. This issue affects the function inc_rlimit_get_ucounts of the component Signal Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a comparison vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-697. The product compares two entities in a security-relevant context, but the comparison is incorrect, which may lead to resultant weaknesses. The impact remains unknown. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: signal: restore the override_rlimit logic Prior to commit d64696905554 ("Reimplement RLIMIT_SIGPENDING on top of ucounts") UCOUNT_RLIMIT_SIGPENDING rlimit was not enforced for a class of signals. However now it's enforced unconditionally, even if override_rlimit is set. This behavior change caused production issues. For example, if the limit is reached and a process receives a SIGSEGV signal, sigqueue_alloc fails to allocate the necessary resources for the signal delivery, preventing the signal from being delivered with siginfo. This prevents the process from correctly identifying the fault address and handling the error. From the user-space perspective, applications are unaware that the limit has been reached and that the siginfo is effectively 'corrupted'. This can lead to unpredictable behavior and crashes, as we observed with java applications. Fix this by passing override_rlimit into inc_rlimit_get_ucounts() and skip the comparison to max there if override_rlimit is set. This effectively restores the old behavior.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2024-50271 since 10/21/2024. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 10/22/2025).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 211777 (Debian dsa-5818 : affs-modules-6.1.0-21-4kc-malta-di - security update), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.1.117, 6.6.61 or 6.11.8 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 012f4d5d25e9/4877d9b2a2eb/0208ea17a1e4/9e05e5c7ee87 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 (211777) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2024-3497). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Google Cloud Platform
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• Kyocera Printer
• IGEL OS
• Lenovo Computer
• Dell PowerEdge
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Dell NetWorker
• Dell Avamar
• IBM QRadar SIEM
• Red Hat OpenShift
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• IBM DataPower Gateway

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.1.116
• 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
• 6.6.41
• 6.6.42
• 6.6.43
• 6.6.44
• 6.6.45
• 6.6.46
• 6.6.47
• 6.6.48
• 6.6.49
• 6.6.50
• 6.6.51
• 6.6.52
• 6.6.53
• 6.6.54
• 6.6.55
• 6.6.56
• 6.6.57
• 6.6.58
• 6.6.59
• 6.6.60
• 6.11.0
• 6.11.1
• 6.11.2
• 6.11.3
• 6.11.4
• 6.11.5
• 6.11.6
• 6.11.7

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

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

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