The Linux kernel is the core of the Linux operating system and plays a vital role in maintaining system stability. Recently, a vulnerability (CVE-2024-53183) was discovered that resulted in system crashes when removing a network device. This vulnerability was found in the User Mode Linux (UML) network subsystem. Fortunately, this vulnerability has now been resolved.

Details

The vulnerability in question revolves around an issue with the use of drvdata in the release function for the UML network subsystem. Since drvdata is not available in release, attempting to remove a network device can result in a system crash with a kernel panic error message. The following code snippet illustrates the problem:

RIP: 0033:net_device_release+x10/x6f<br>RSP: 00000000e20c7c40 EFLAGS: 00010206<br>RAX: 000000006002e4e7 RBX: 00000000600f1baf RCX: 00000000624074e<br>RDX: 000000006277800 RSI: 0000000060551c80 RDI: 00000000627af028<br>RBP: 00000000e20c7c50 R08: 00000000603ad594 R09: 00000000e20c7b70<br>R10: 000000000000135a R11: 00000000603ad422 R12: 000000000000000<br>R13: 0000000062c7af00 R14: 0000000062406d60 R15: 00000000627700b6<br>Kernel panic - not syncing: Segfault with no mm

To address this vulnerability, the drvdata function should not be used in the release. Instead, the container_of() function should be used to get the uml_net instance, as illustrated in the code snippet below:

References

For more information on the Linux kernel and the resolved vulnerability, please refer to the following resources:

1. Linux Kernel Homepage
2. CVE-2024-53183 Vulnerability Details
3. User Mode Linux (UML) Homepage

Conclusion

The resolution of the CVE-2024-53183 vulnerability is an important step in ensuring the stability and security of Linux systems. By addressing this issue, the risk of system crashes and subsequent denial of service (DoS) attacks have been significantly reduced. Users and system administrators should ensure that they are using the latest version of the kernel in order to protect their systems from this and other potential threats.

Timeline

Published on: 12/27/2024 14:15:25 UTC
Last modified on: 01/20/2025 06:20:46 UTC