Linux Kernel up to 6.6.63/6.11.10/6.12.1 nfsd use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as critical has been reported in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.63/6.11.10/6.12.1. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality of the component nfsd. The manipulation leads to use after free. This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2024-53216. There is no available exploit. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.63/6.11.10/6.12.1. This issue affects an unknown code of the component nfsd. 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: nfsd: release svc_expkey/svc_export with rcu_work The last reference for `cache_head` can be reduced to zero in `c_show` and `e_show`(using `rcu_read_lock` and `rcu_read_unlock`). Consequently, `svc_export_put` and `expkey_put` will be invoked, leading to two issues: 1. The `svc_export_put` will directly free ex_uuid. However, `e_show`/`c_show` will access `ex_uuid` after `cache_put`, which can trigger a use-after-free issue, shown below. ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in svc_export_show+0x362/0x430 [nfsd] Read of size 1 at addr ff11000010fdc120 by task cat/870 CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 870 Comm: cat Not tainted 6.12.0-rc3+ #1 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.1-2.fc37 04/01/2014 Call Trace: dump_stack_lvl+0x53/0x70 print_address_description.constprop.0+0x2c/0x3a0 print_report+0xb9/0x280 kasan_report+0xae/0xe0 svc_export_show+0x362/0x430 [nfsd] c_show+0x161/0x390 [sunrpc] seq_read_iter+0x589/0x770 seq_read+0x1e5/0x270 proc_reg_read+0xe1/0x140 vfs_read+0x125/0x530 ksys_read+0xc1/0x160 do_syscall_64+0x5f/0x170 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e Allocated by task 830: kasan_save_stack+0x20/0x40 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 __kasan_kmalloc+0x8f/0xa0 __kmalloc_node_track_caller_noprof+0x1bc/0x400 kmemdup_noprof+0x22/0x50 svc_export_parse+0x8a9/0xb80 [nfsd] cache_do_downcall+0x71/0xa0 [sunrpc] cache_write_procfs+0x8e/0xd0 [sunrpc] proc_reg_write+0xe1/0x140 vfs_write+0x1a5/0x6d0 ksys_write+0xc1/0x160 do_syscall_64+0x5f/0x170 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e Freed by task 868: kasan_save_stack+0x20/0x40 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 kasan_save_free_info+0x3b/0x60 __kasan_slab_free+0x37/0x50 kfree+0xf3/0x3e0 svc_export_put+0x87/0xb0 [nfsd] cache_purge+0x17f/0x1f0 [sunrpc] nfsd_destroy_serv+0x226/0x2d0 [nfsd] nfsd_svc+0x125/0x1e0 [nfsd] write_threads+0x16a/0x2a0 [nfsd] nfsctl_transaction_write+0x74/0xa0 [nfsd] vfs_write+0x1a5/0x6d0 ksys_write+0xc1/0x160 do_syscall_64+0x5f/0x170 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e 2. We cannot sleep while using `rcu_read_lock`/`rcu_read_unlock`. However, `svc_export_put`/`expkey_put` will call path_put, which subsequently triggers a sleeping operation due to the following `dput`. ============================= WARNING: suspicious RCU usage 5.10.0-dirty #141 Not tainted ----------------------------- ... Call Trace: dump_stack+0x9a/0xd0 ___might_sleep+0x231/0x240 dput+0x39/0x600 path_put+0x1b/0x30 svc_export_put+0x17/0x80 e_show+0x1c9/0x200 seq_read_iter+0x63f/0x7c0 seq_read+0x226/0x2d0 vfs_read+0x113/0x2c0 ksys_read+0xc9/0x170 do_syscall_64+0x33/0x40 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x67/0xd1 Fix these issues by using `rcu_work` to help release `svc_expkey`/`svc_export`. This approach allows for an asynchronous context to invoke `path_put` and also facilitates the freeing of `uuid/exp/key` after an RCU grace period.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2024-53216 since 11/19/2024. The exploitation is known to be difficult. Neither technical details nor an exploit are publicly available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 12/15/2025).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 214250 (SUSE SLES15 / openSUSE 15 Security Update : kernel (SUSE-SU-2025:0117-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.6.64, 6.11.11 or 6.12.2 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch bd8524148dd8c123334b066faa90590ba2ef8e6f/2e4854599200f4d021df8ae17e69221d7c149f3e/ad4363a24a5746b257c0beb5d8cc68f9b62c173f/f8c989a0c89a75d30f899a7cabdc14d72522bb8d 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 (214250) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2024-3762). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Dell NetWorker
• Dell Avamar
• Red Hat OpenShift
• IBM QRadar SIEM
• Dell PowerProtect Data Domain
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• IBM DataPower Gateway
• Dell Secure Connect Gateway

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
• 6.6.41
• 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
• 6.6.61
• 6.6.62
• 6.6.63
• 6.11.0
• 6.11.1
• 6.11.2
• 6.11.3
• 6.11.4
• 6.11.5
• 6.11.6
• 6.11.7
• 6.11.8
• 6.11.9
• 6.11.10
• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔍
• 🔍
• 🔍

CPE 2.2info

• 🔍
• 🔍
• 🔍

CVSSv4info

CVSSv3info

CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

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

Discussion