CVE-2024-26923: af_unix: Fix garbage collector racing against connect()

Published Apr 24, 2024
·
Updated

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

afunix: 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 SCMRIGHTS, two consecutive passes of scanchildren() may see a different set of children. Leading to an incorrectly elevated inflight count, and then a dangling pointer within the gcinflightlist.

sockets are AFUNIX/SOCKSTREAM 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) unixgc() ---------------- ------------------------- -----------

NS = unixcreate1() skb1 = sockwmalloc(NS) L = unixfindother(addr) unixstatelock(L) unixpeer(S) = NS // V count=1 inflight=0

NS = unixpeer(S) skb2 = sockalloc() skbqueuetail(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 gcinflightlist: if (totalrefs == inflightrefs) add u to gccandidates

// gccandidates={L, V}

for u in gccandidates: scanchildren(u, decinflight)

// embryo (skb1) was not // reachable from L yet, so V's // inflight remains unchanged skbqueuetail(L, skb1) unixstateunlock(L) for u in gccandidates: if (u.inflight) scanchildren(u, incinflightmovetail)

// 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 SCMRIGHTS. At this point, unixinflight() can not happen because unixgclock is already taken. Inflight graph remains unaffected.

Other sources

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

afunix: Fix garbage collector racing against connect()

The Linux kernel CVE team has assigned CVE-2024-26923 to this issue.

Upstream advisory: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2024042418-CVE-2024-26923-f7f6@gregkh/T

Red Hat

Affected Software

19 affected componentsFixes available
Google Android
F5 Traffix SDC=5.2.0
debian/linux
5.10.223-15.10.234-16.1.129-16.1.135-16.12.25-16.12.27-1
redhat/kernel<5.15.156
5.15.156
redhat/kernel<6.1.87
6.1.87
redhat/kernel<6.6.28
6.6.28
redhat/kernel<6.8.7
6.8.7
redhat/kernel<6.9
6.9
Linux Linux kernel>=2.6.23<4.19.314
Linux Linux kernel>=4.20<5.4.275
Linux Linux kernel>=5.5<5.10.216
Linux Linux kernel>=5.11<5.15.156
Linux Linux kernel>=5.16<6.1.87
Linux Linux kernel>=6.2<6.6.28
Linux Linux kernel>=6.7<6.8.7
Linux Linux kernel=6.9-rc1
Linux Linux kernel=6.9-rc2
Linux Linux kernel=6.9-rc3
Debian Debian Linux=10.0

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade debian/linux to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 5.10.223-1Fixed in 5.10.234-1Fixed in 6.1.129-1Fixed in 6.1.135-1Fixed in 6.12.25-1Fixed in 6.12.27-1
  2. Upgrade

    Upgrade redhat/kernel to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 5.15.156
  3. Upgrade

    Upgrade redhat/kernel to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.1.87
  4. Upgrade

    Upgrade redhat/kernel to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.6.28
  5. Upgrade

    Upgrade redhat/kernel to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.7
  6. Upgrade

    Upgrade redhat/kernel to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.9
  7. Upgrade

    Upgrade to a fixed release to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Patch CVE-2024-26923
  8. Compensating control

    For AF_UNIX/SOCK_STREAM connections affected by CVE-2024-26923, ensure the system prevents untrusted peers from initiating/triggering AF_UNIX connects that could race with the AF_UNIX garbage collector (e.g., restrict access to the AF_UNIX socket path/namespace using OS-level controls).

Event History

Apr 24, 2024
CVE Published
via MITRE·09:49 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·09:49 PM
DescriptionSeverity
Apr 25, 2024
Data Sourced
via NVD·06:15 AM
Description
Data Sourced
via NVD·06:15 AM
RemedySeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Data Sourced
via Red Hat·02:05 PM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Jul 15, 2024
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·07:45 PM
Description
Dec 10, 2024
Advisory Published
via F5·05:17 PM
Apr 27, 2025
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·12:16 AM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2024-26923?

CVE-2024-26923 is considered a medium severity vulnerability affecting the Linux kernel.

2

How do I fix CVE-2024-26923?

To fix CVE-2024-26923, update to the latest kernel version provided by your distribution.

3

Which software versions are affected by CVE-2024-26923?

CVE-2024-26923 affects various versions of the Linux kernel, including those prior to 5.15.156 and others specified by Red Hat and Debian.

4

Is CVE-2024-26923 specific to certain distributions?

Yes, CVE-2024-26923 affects multiple distributions including Red Hat and Debian based systems.

5

What types of impacts can CVE-2024-26923 cause?

CVE-2024-26923 can potentially lead to garbage collection issues that may affect the stability of applications relying on the Linux kernel.

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