What is CVE-2024-40972?

CVE-2024-40972 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, classified as a Improper Locking flaw (CWE-667), affecting Linux kernel versions from 4.13 onward and patched in 6.1.107, 6.6.47, 6.9.7 and others. CVE-2024-40972 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2024-40972?

CVE-2024-40972 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2024-40972?

Yes, CVE-2024-40972 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.1.107, 6.6.47, 6.9.7 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.13 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2024-40972 actively exploited?

CVE-2024-40972 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is Improper Locking (CWE-667)?

The product does not properly acquire or release a lock, which can lead to unexpected behaviour. See MITRE CWE for full details: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/667.html

CVE-2024-40972

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: do not create EA inode under buffer lock ext4_xattr_set_entry() creates new EA inodes while holding buffer lock on the external xattr block. This is problematic as it nests all the allocation locking (which acquires locks on other buffers) under the buffer lock. This can even deadlock when the filesystem is corrupted and e.g. quota file is setup to contain xattr block as data block. Move the allocation of EA inode out of ext4_xattr_set_entry() into the callers.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2024-07-12

Last modified 2025-11-03

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

5.5

out of 10

Medium

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Vector string

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness type

CWE-667

CVE-2024-40972 is a Improper Locking vulnerability

What is Improper Locking?

The product does not properly acquire or release a lock, which can lead to unexpected behaviour. Learn more on MITRE CWE

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 4.13 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.1.107, 6.6.47, 6.9.7, 6.10 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 4.13

Fixed in

✓ 6.1.107 6.1.x ✓ 6.6.47 6.6.x ✓ 6.9.7 6.9.x ✓ 6.10

References

5 total

Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0752e7fb549d90c33b4d4186f11cfd25a556d1dd

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0a46ef234756dca04623b7591e8ebb3440622f0b

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/111103907234bffd0a34fba070ad9367de058752

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/737fb7853acd5bc8984f6f42e4bfba3334be8ae1

Patch
Debian Security
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/01/msg00001.html

Details

CVE ID CVE-2024-40972

Severity Medium

CVSS score 5.5 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2024-07-12

Modified 2025-11-03

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2024-40972?

CVE-2024-40972 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 , classified as an Improper Locking flaw (CWE-667) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 4.13 onward and has been patched in 6.1.107, 6.6.47, 6.9.7 and others. CVE-2024-40972 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2024-40972?

CVE-2024-40972 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2024-40972?

Yes. CVE-2024-40972 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.1.107, 6.6.47, 6.9.7 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.13 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2024-40972 actively exploited?

No. CVE-2024-40972 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.