CVE-2024-43870

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: perf: Fix event leak upon exit When a task is scheduled out, pending sigtrap deliveries are deferred to the target task upon resume to userspace via task_work. However failures while adding an event's callback to the task_work engine are ignored. And since the last call for events exit happen after task work is eventually closed, there is a small window during which pending sigtrap can be queued though ignored, leaking the event refcount addition such as in the following scenario: TASK A ----- do_exit() exit_task_work(tsk); <IRQ> perf_event_overflow() event->pending_sigtrap = pending_id; irq_work_queue(&event->pending_irq); </IRQ> =========> PREEMPTION: TASK A -> TASK B event_sched_out() event->pending_sigtrap = 0; atomic_long_inc_not_zero(&event->refcount) // FAILS: task work has exited task_work_add(&event->pending_task) [...] <IRQ WORK> perf_pending_irq() // early return: event->oncpu = -1 </IRQ WORK> [...] =========> TASK B -> TASK A perf_event_exit_task(tsk) perf_event_exit_event() free_event() WARN(atomic_long_cmpxchg(&event->refcount, 1, 0) != 1) // leak event due to unexpected refcount == 2 As a result the event is never released while the task exits. Fix this with appropriate task_work_add()'s error handling.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2024-08-21
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-401

CVE-2024-43870 is a Memory Leak vulnerability

What is Memory Leak?

The product does not release memory after use, causing gradual resource exhaustion. Learn more on MITRE CWE

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 5.15.84, 6.0.14, 6.1 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.15.165, 6.1.103, 6.6.44, 6.10.3, 6.11 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 5.15.84 ≥ 6.0.14 ≥ 6.1
Fixed in
✓ 5.15.165 5.15.x ✓ 6.1.103 6.1.x ✓ 6.6.44 6.6.x ✓ 6.10.3 6.10.x ✓ 6.11

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2024-43870 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2024-43870?

    CVE-2024-43870 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 , classified as a Memory Leak flaw (CWE-401) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.15.84 onward and has been patched in 5.15.165, 6.1.103, 6.6.44 and others. CVE-2024-43870 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2024-43870?

    CVE-2024-43870 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-2024-43870?

    Yes — CVE-2024-43870 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.15.165, 6.1.103, 6.6.44 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.15.84 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2024-43870 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2024-43870 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

  • What is Memory Leak (CWE-401)?

    The product does not release memory after use, causing gradual resource exhaustion. View CWE-401 on MITRE CWE →