af_unix: Call kfree_skb() for dead unix_(sk)->oob_skb in GC.
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CISA ADP. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-401.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: af_unix: Call kfree_skb() for dead unix_(sk)->oob_skb in GC. syzbot reported a warning [0] in __unix_gc() with a repro, which creates a socketpair and sends one socket's fd to itself using the peer. socketpair(AF_UNIX, SOCK_STREAM, 0, [3, 4]) = 0 sendmsg(4, {msg_name=NULL, msg_namelen=0, msg_iov=[{iov_base="\360", iov_len=1}], msg_iovlen=1, msg_control=[{cmsg_len=20, cmsg_level=SOL_SOCKET, cmsg_type=SCM_RIGHTS, cmsg_data=[3]}], msg_controllen=24, msg_flags=0}, MSG_OOB|MSG_PROBE|MSG_DONTWAIT|MSG_ZEROCOPY) = 1 This forms a self-cyclic reference that GC should finally untangle but does not due to lack of MSG_OOB handling, resulting in memory leak. Recently, commit 11498715f266 ("af_unix: Remove io_uring code for GC.") removed io_uring's dead code in GC and revealed the problem. The code was executed at the final stage of GC and unconditionally moved all GC candidates from gc_candidates to gc_inflight_list. That papered over the reported problem by always making the following WARN_ON_ONCE(!list_empty(&gc_candidates)) false. The problem has been there since commit 2aab4b969002 ("af_unix: fix struct pid leaks in OOB support") added full scm support for MSG_OOB while fixing another bug. To fix this problem, we must call kfree_skb() for unix_sk(sk)->oob_skb if the socket still exists in gc_candidates after purging collected skb. Then, we need to set NULL to oob_skb before calling kfree_skb() because it calls last fput() and triggers unix_release_sock(), where we call duplicate kfree_skb(u->oob_skb) if not NULL. Note that the leaked socket remained being linked to a global list, so kmemleak also could not detect it. We need to check /proc/net/protocol to notice the unfreed socket. [0]: WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 2863 at net/unix/garbage.c:345 __unix_gc+0xc74/0xe80 net/unix/garbage.c:345 Modules linked in: CPU: 0 PID: 2863 Comm: kworker/u4:11 Not tainted 6.8.0-rc1-syzkaller-00583-g1701940b1a02 #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 01/25/2024 Workqueue: events_unbound __unix_gc RIP: 0010:__unix_gc+0xc74/0xe80 net/unix/garbage.c:345 Code: 8b 5c 24 50 e9 86 f8 ff ff e8 f8 e4 22 f8 31 d2 48 c7 c6 30 6a 69 89 4c 89 ef e8 97 ef ff ff e9 80 f9 ff ff e8 dd e4 22 f8 90 <0f> 0b 90 e9 7b fd ff ff 48 89 df e8 5c e7 7c f8 e9 d3 f8 ff ff e8 RSP: 0018:ffffc9000b03fba0 EFLAGS: 00010293 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffffc9000b03fc10 RCX: ffffffff816c493e RDX: ffff88802c02d940 RSI: ffffffff896982f3 RDI: ffffc9000b03fb30 RBP: ffffc9000b03fce0 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: fffff52001607f66 R10: 0000000000000003 R11: 0000000000000002 R12: dffffc0000000000 R13: ffffc9000b03fc10 R14: ffffc9000b03fc10 R15: 0000000000000001 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff8880b9400000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00005559c8677a60 CR3: 000000000d57a000 CR4: 00000000003506f0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: <TASK> process_one_work+0x889/0x15e0 kernel/workqueue.c:2633 process_scheduled_works kernel/workqueue.c:2706 [inline] worker_thread+0x8b9/0x12a0 kernel/workqueue.c:2787 kthread+0x2c6/0x3b0 kernel/kthread.c:388 ret_from_fork+0x45/0x80 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:147 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1b/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:242 </TASK>
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 5.15.103 to before 5.15.149; 6.1.20 to before 6.1.78; 6.2.7 to before 6.3 | 5.15.149, 6.1.78, 6.3 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 6.3 and later | 5.15.149, 6.1.78, 6.6.17, 6.7.5, 6.8 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.15.103 to before 5.15.149; 6.1.20 to before 6.1.78; 6.2.7 to before 6.3 Fixed in 5.15.149, 6.1.78, 6.3 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.3 and later Fixed in 5.15.149, 6.1.78, 6.6.17, 6.7.5, 6.8 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 4
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.15.103 to before 5.15.149; 6.1.20 to before 6.1.78; 6.3 to before 6.6.17; 6.7 to before 6.7.5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.8:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.8 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.8:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.8 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.8:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.8 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.15.103 to before 5.15.149; 6.1.20 to before 6.1.78; 6.3 to before 6.6.17; 6.7 to before 6.7.5 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.8:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.8 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.8:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.8 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.8:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.8 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.15.149, 6.1.78, 6.3
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.15.149, 6.1.78, 6.6.17, 6.7.5, 6.8
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 4 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2024-26676
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-c8hq-5hxw-3w26
References
Patch 5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4fe505c63aa3273135a57597fda761e9aecc7668
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e0e09186d8821ad59806115d347ea32efa43ca4b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b74aa9ce13d02b7fd37c5325b99854f91b9b4276
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/82ae47c5c3a6b27fdc0f9e83c1499cb439c56140
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1279f9d9dec2d7462823a18c29ad61359e0a007d
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2024-26676 · CVE Program
- CVE-2024-26676 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-c8hq-5hxw-3w26 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2024-26676 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences