CVE-2024-35846: linux kernel Null Dereference — Fix

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm: zswap: fix shrinker NULL crash with cgroup_disable=memory Christian reports a NULL deref in zswap that he bisected down to the zswap shrinker. The issue also cropped up in the bug trackers of libguestfs [1] and the Red Hat bugzilla [2]. The problem is that when memcg is disabled with the boot time flag, the zswap shrinker might get called with sc->memcg == NULL. This is okay in many places, like the lruvec operations. But it crashes in memcg_page_state() - which is only used due to the non-node accounting of cgroup's the zswap memory to begin with. Nhat spotted that the memcg can be NULL in the memcg-disabled case, and I was then able to reproduce the crash locally as well. [1] https://github.com/libguestfs/libguestfs/issues/139 [2] https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2275252

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CVSS v3.1 Score

5.5

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-476 CWE-476

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
linux	linux_kernel	6.8 — 6.8.9
linux	linux_kernel	All
linux	linux_kernel	All
linux	linux_kernel	All
linux	linux_kernel	All
linux	linux_kernel	All

References

Advisories & Patches

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/682886ec69d22363819a83ddddd5d66cb5c791e1 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b0fdabc908a7f81d12382c87ca9e46a9c2e14042 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/682886ec69d22363819a83ddddd5d66cb5c791e1 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b0fdabc908a7f81d12382c87ca9e46a9c2e14042

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-35846? +

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm: zswap: fix shrinker NULL crash with cgroup_disable=memory Christian reports a NULL deref in zswap that he bisected down to the zswap shrinker. The issue also cropped up in the bug trackers of libguestfs [1] and the Red Hat bugzilla [2]. The problem is that when memcg is disabled with the boot time flag, the zswap shrinker might get called with sc->memcg == NULL. This is okay in many places, like the lruvec operations. But it crashes in memcg_page_state() - which is only used due to the non-node accounting of cgroup's the zswap memory to begin with. Nhat spotted that the memcg can be NULL in the memcg-disabled case, and I was then able to reproduce the crash locally as well. [1] https://github.com/libguestfs/libguestfs/issues/139 [2] https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2275252 It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2024-35846? +

CVE-2024-35846 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.5 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.

What products are affected by CVE-2024-35846? +

CVE-2024-35846 affects products from linux, specifically: linux_kernel. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2024-35846? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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CVE-2024-35846