Linux Kernel up to 6.12.11/6.13.0 libfs offset_readdir comparison

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as problematic has been reported in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.11/6.13.0. This affects the function offset_readdir of the component libfs. This manipulation causes comparison. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2024-57952. No exploit is available. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.11/6.13.0. It has been declared as problematic. Affected by this vulnerability is the function offset_readdir of the component libfs. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a comparison vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is 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: Revert "libfs: fix infinite directory reads for offset dir" The current directory offset allocator (based on mtree_alloc_cyclic) stores the next offset value to return in octx->next_offset. This mechanism typically returns values that increase monotonically over time. Eventually, though, the newly allocated offset value wraps back to a low number (say, 2) which is smaller than other already- allocated offset values. Yu Kuai reports that, after commit 64a7ce76fb90 ("libfs: fix infinite directory reads for offset dir"), if a directory's offset allocator wraps, existing entries are no longer visible via readdir/getdents because offset_readdir() stops listing entries once an entry's offset is larger than octx->next_offset. These entries vanish persistently -- they can be looked up, but will never again appear in readdir(3) output. The reason for this is that the commit treats directory offsets as monotonically increasing integer values rather than opaque cookies, and introduces this comparison: if (dentry2offset(dentry) >= last_index) { On 64-bit platforms, the directory offset value upper bound is 2^63 - 1. Directory offsets will monotonically increase for millions of years without wrapping. On 32-bit platforms, however, LONG_MAX is 2^31 - 1. The allocator can wrap after only a few weeks (at worst). Revert commit 64a7ce76fb90 ("libfs: fix infinite directory reads for offset dir") to prepare for a fix that can work properly on 32-bit systems and might apply to recent LTS kernels where shmem employs the simple_offset mechanism.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2024-57952 since 01/19/2025. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 02/17/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 234757 (Ubuntu 24.04 LTS / 24.10 : Linux kernel vulnerabilities (USN-7445-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.12.12, 6.13.1 or 6.14-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 9e9e710f68bac49bd9b587823c077d06363440e0/3f250b82040a72b0059ae00855a74d8570ad2147/b662d858131da9a8a14e68661656989b14dbf113 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 (234757) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-0362). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• SUSE openSUSE
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Open Source Linux Kernel

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.0
• 6.1
• 6.2
• 6.3
• 6.4
• 6.5
• 6.6
• 6.7
• 6.8
• 6.9
• 6.10
• 6.11
• 6.12
• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1
• 6.12.2
• 6.12.3
• 6.12.4
• 6.12.5
• 6.12.6
• 6.12.7
• 6.12.8
• 6.12.9
• 6.12.10
• 6.12.11
• 6.13.0

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

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