CVE-2024-50229: linux kernel — Fix

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nilfs2: fix potential deadlock with newly created symlinks Syzbot reported that page_symlink(), called by nilfs_symlink(), triggers memory reclamation involving the filesystem layer, which can result in circular lock dependencies among the reader/writer semaphore nilfs->ns_segctor_sem, s_writers percpu_rwsem (intwrite) and the fs_reclaim pseudo lock. This is because after commit 21fc61c73c39 ("don't put symlink bodies in pagecache into highmem"), the gfp flags of the page cache for symbolic links are overwritten to GFP_KERNEL via inode_nohighmem(). This is not a problem for symlinks read from the backing device, because the __GFP_FS flag is dropped after inode_nohighmem() is called. However, when a new symlink is created with nilfs_symlink(), the gfp flags remain overwritten to GFP_KERNEL. Then, memory allocation called from page_symlink() etc. triggers memory reclamation including the FS layer, which may call nilfs_evict_inode() or nilfs_dirty_inode(). And these can cause a deadlock if they are called while nilfs->ns_segctor_sem is held: Fix this issue by dropping the __GFP_FS flag from the page cache GFP flags of newly created symlinks in the same way that nilfs_new_inode() and __nilfs_read_inode() do, as a workaround until we adopt nofs allocation scope consistently or improve the locking constraints.

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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-667 CWE-667

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
linux	linux_kernel	4.5 — 4.19.323
linux	linux_kernel	4.20 — 5.4.285
linux	linux_kernel	5.5 — 5.10.229
linux	linux_kernel	5.11 — 5.15.171
linux	linux_kernel	5.16 — 6.1.116
linux	linux_kernel	6.2 — 6.6.60
linux	linux_kernel	6.7 — 6.11.7
linux	linux_kernel	All
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/1246d86e7bbde265761932c6e2dce28c69cdcb91 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/58c7f44c7b9e5ac7e3b1e5da2572ed7767a12f38 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/69548bb663fcb63f9ee0301be808a36b9d78dac3 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9aa5d43ac4cace8fb9bd964ff6c23f599dc3cd24 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a1686db1e59f8fc016c4c9361e2119dd206f479a https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b3a033e3ecd3471248d474ef263aadc0059e516a https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c72e0df0b56c1166736dc8eb62070ebb12591447 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cc38c596e648575ce58bfc31623a6506eda4b94a

Other References

https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/01/msg00001.html https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/03/msg00002.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-50229? +

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nilfs2: fix potential deadlock with newly created symlinks Syzbot reported that page_symlink(), called by nilfs_symlink(), triggers memory reclamation involving the filesystem layer, which can result in circular lock dependencies among the reader/writer semaphore nilfs->ns_segctor_sem, s_writers percpu_rwsem (intwrite) and the fs_reclaim pseudo lock. This is because after commit 21fc61c73c39 ("don't put symlink bodies in pagecache into highmem"), the gfp flags of the page cache for symbolic links are overwritten to GFP_KERNEL via inode_nohighmem(). This is not a problem for symlinks read from the backing device, because the __GFP_FS flag is dropped after inode_nohighmem() is called. However, when a new symlink is created with nilfs_symlink(), the gfp flags remain overwritten to GFP_KERNEL. Then, memory allocation called from page_symlink() etc. triggers memory reclamation including the FS layer, which may call nilfs_evict_inode() or nilfs_dirty_inode(). And these can cause a deadlock if they are called while nilfs->ns_segctor_sem is held: Fix this issue by dropping the __GFP_FS flag from the page cache GFP flags of newly created symlinks in the same way that nilfs_new_inode() and __nilfs_read_inode() do, as a workaround until we adopt nofs allocation scope consistently or improve the locking constraints. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2024-50229? +

CVE-2024-50229 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-2024-50229? +

CVE-2024-50229 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-2024-50229? +

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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