CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2024-36972 — In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: af_unix: Update unix_sk(sk)->oob_skb under sk_receive_queue lock

High CVSS 7.5

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: af_unix: Update unix_sk(sk)->oob_skb under sk_receive_queue lock. Billy Jheng Bing-Jhong reported a race between __unix_gc() and queue_oob(). __unix_gc() tries to garbage-collect close()d inflight sockets, and then if the socket has MSG_OOB in unix_sk(sk)->oob_skb, GC will drop the reference and set NULL to it locklessly. However, the peer socket still can send MSG_OOB message and queue_oob() can update unix_sk(sk)->oob_skb concurrently, leading NULL pointer dereference. [0] To fix the issue, let's update unix_sk(sk)->oob_skb under the sk_receive_queue's lock and take it everywhere we touch oob_skb. Note that we defer kfree_skb() in manage_oob() to silence lockdep false-positive (See [1]). [0]: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000008 PF: supervisor write access in kernel mode PF: error_code(0x0002) - not-present page PGD 8000000009f5e067 P4D 8000000009f5e067 PUD 9f5d067 PMD 0 Oops: 0002 [#1] PREEMPT SMP PTI CPU: 3 PID: 50 Comm: kworker/3:1 Not tainted 6.9.0-rc5-00191-gd091e579b864 #110 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.16.0-0-gd239552ce722-prebuilt.qemu.org 0…

Severity
High
CVSS
7.5 (3.1)
Published
2024-06-10
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
linux/kernel
Weaknesses
CWE-476

Affected products

  • linux / linux_kernel

Showing 1 representative product identities from 4 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Buffer bounds, memory safety, and memory corruption

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Check exposure

  • Identify affected native-code versions, build flags, architectures, parsers, codecs, drivers, and input paths in all shipped artifacts.
  • Determine whether untrusted data reaches the affected routine and the process privilege, sandbox, and network exposure.
  • Confirm statically linked, vendored, firmware, and platform-provided copies, not only package-manager records.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the maintained upstream correction or replace the affected component, then rebuild every dependent artifact from clean inputs.
  • Adopt bounds-checked interfaces, validated sizes and integer conversions, clear ownership, and memory-safe components where practical.
  • Enable supported compiler and runtime hardening and add sanitized tests and fuzz regression seeds derived from non-weaponized fixtures.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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