CVE-2024-26923

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: af_unix: Fix garbage collector racing against connect() Garbage collector does not take into account the risk of embryo getting enqueued during the garbage collection. If such embryo has a peer that carries SCM_RIGHTS, two consecutive passes of scan_children() may see a different set of children. Leading to an incorrectly elevated inflight count, and then a dangling pointer within the gc_inflight_list. sockets are AF_UNIX/SOCK_STREAM S is an unconnected socket L is a listening in-flight socket bound to addr, not in fdtable V's fd will be passed via sendmsg(), gets inflight count bumped connect(S, addr) sendmsg(S, [V]); close(V) __unix_gc() ---------------- ------------------------- ----------- NS = unix_create1() skb1 = sock_wmalloc(NS) L = unix_find_other(addr) unix_state_lock(L) unix_peer(S) = NS // V count=1 inflight=0 NS = unix_peer(S) skb2 = sock_alloc() skb_queue_tail(NS, skb2[V]) // V became in-flight // V count=2 inflight=1 close(V) // V count=1 inflight=1 // GC candidate condition met for u in gc_inflight_list: if (total_refs == inflight_refs) add u to gc_candidates // gc_candidates={L, V} for u in gc_candidates: scan_children(u, dec_inflight) // embryo (skb1) was not // reachable from L yet, so V's // inflight remains unchanged __skb_queue_tail(L, skb1) unix_state_unlock(L) for u in gc_candidates: if (u.inflight) scan_children(u, inc_inflight_move_tail) // V count=1 inflight=2 (!) If there is a GC-candidate listening socket, lock/unlock its state. This makes GC wait until the end of any ongoing connect() to that socket. After flipping the lock, a possibly SCM-laden embryo is already enqueued. And if there is another embryo coming, it can not possibly carry SCM_RIGHTS. At this point, unix_inflight() can not happen because unix_gc_lock is already taken. Inflight graph remains unaffected.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2024-04-25
Last modified 2026-05-12
CVSS version 3.1
Patch available
Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

4.7

out of 10
Medium
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
High
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
High
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness type

CWE-362

CVE-2024-26923 is a Race Condition vulnerability

What is Race Condition?

The product contains a code sequence that can run concurrently with other code, creating unexpected states. Learn more on MITRE CWE

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 2.6.23 and later are affected. Fixed in 4.19.314, 5.4.275, 5.10.216, 5.15.156, 6.1.87, 6.6.28, 6.8.7, 6.9 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 2.6.23
Fixed in
✓ 4.19.314 4.19.x ✓ 5.4.275 5.4.x ✓ 5.10.216 5.10.x ✓ 5.15.156 5.15.x ✓ 6.1.87 6.1.x ✓ 6.6.28 6.6.x ✓ 6.8.7 6.8.x ✓ 6.9

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2024-26923?

    CVE-2024-26923 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 4.7 out of 10 , classified as a Race Condition flaw (CWE-362) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 2.6.23 onward and has been patched in 4.19.314, 5.4.275, 5.10.216 and others. CVE-2024-26923 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2024-26923?

    CVE-2024-26923 has a CVSS score of 4.7 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H .

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2024-26923?

    Yes. CVE-2024-26923 has been patched. Fixed versions include 4.19.314, 5.4.275, 5.10.216 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 2.6.23 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2024-26923 actively exploited?

    No. CVE-2024-26923 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.