CVE-2024-49861

High

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Fix helper writes to read-only maps Lonial found an issue that despite user- and BPF-side frozen BPF map (like in case of .rodata), it was still possible to write into it from a BPF program side through specific helpers having ARG_PTR_TO_{LONG,INT} as arguments. In check_func_arg() when the argument is as mentioned, the meta->raw_mode is never set. Later, check_helper_mem_access(), under the case of PTR_TO_MAP_VALUE as register base type, it assumes BPF_READ for the subsequent call to check_map_access_type() and given the BPF map is read-only it succeeds. The helpers really need to be annotated as ARG_PTR_TO_{LONG,INT} | MEM_UNINIT when results are written into them as opposed to read out of them. The latter indicates that it's okay to pass a pointer to uninitialized memory as the memory is written to anyway. However, ARG_PTR_TO_{LONG,INT} is a special case of ARG_PTR_TO_FIXED_SIZE_MEM just with additional alignment requirement. So it is better to just get rid of the ARG_PTR_TO_{LONG,INT} special cases altogether and reuse the fixed size memory types. For this, add MEM_ALIGNED to additionally ensure alignment given these helpers write directly into the args via *<ptr> = val. The .arg*_size has been initialized reflecting the actual sizeof(*<ptr>). MEM_ALIGNED can only be used in combination with MEM_FIXED_SIZE annotated argument types, since in !MEM_FIXED_SIZE cases the verifier does not know the buffer size a priori and therefore cannot blindly write *<ptr> = val.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2024-10-21
Last modified 2025-11-03
CVSS version 3.1
Patch available
Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

7.1

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

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 5.2 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.1.120, 6.6.54, 6.10.13, 6.11.2, 6.12 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 5.2
Fixed in
✓ 6.1.120 6.1.x ✓ 6.6.54 6.6.x ✓ 6.10.13 6.10.x ✓ 6.11.2 6.11.x ✓ 6.12

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2024-49861 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-2024-49861?

    CVE-2024-49861 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.1 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.2 onward and has been patched in 6.1.120, 6.6.54, 6.10.13 and others. CVE-2024-49861 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2024-49861?

    CVE-2024-49861 has a CVSS score of 7.1 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H .

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2024-49861?

    Yes — CVE-2024-49861 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.1.120, 6.6.54, 6.10.13 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.2 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2024-49861 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2024-49861 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.