mm, slub: avoid zeroing kmalloc redzone
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 5 fixed, 1 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm, slub: avoid zeroing kmalloc redzone Since commit 946fa0dbf2d8 ("mm/slub: extend redzone check to extra allocated kmalloc space than requested"), setting orig_size treats the wasted space (object_size - orig_size) as a redzone. However with init_on_free=1 we clear the full object->size, including the redzone. Additionally we clear the object metadata, including the stored orig_size, making it zero, which makes check_object() treat the whole object as a redzone. These issues lead to the following BUG report with "slub_debug=FUZ init_on_free=1": [ 0.000000] ============================================================================= [ 0.000000] BUG kmalloc-8 (Not tainted): kmalloc Redzone overwritten [ 0.000000] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ 0.000000] [ 0.000000] 0xffff000010032858-0xffff00001003285f @offset=2136. First byte 0x0 instead of 0xcc [ 0.000000] FIX kmalloc-8: Restoring kmalloc Redzone 0xffff000010032858-0xffff00001003285f=0xcc [ 0.000000] Slab 0xfffffdffc0400c80 objects=36 used=23 fp=0xffff000010032a18 flags=0x3fffe0000000200(workingset|node=0|zone=0|lastcpupid=0x1ffff) [ 0.000000] Object 0xffff000010032858 @offset=2136 fp=0xffff0000100328c8 [ 0.000000] [ 0.000000] Redzone ffff000010032850: cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc ........ [ 0.000000] Object ffff000010032858: cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc ........ [ 0.000000] Redzone ffff000010032860: cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc ........ [ 0.000000] Padding ffff0000100328b4: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ............ [ 0.000000] CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/0 Not tainted 6.11.0-rc3-next-20240814-00004-g61844c55c3f4 #144 [ 0.000000] Hardware name: NXP i.MX95 19X19 board (DT) [ 0.000000] Call trace: [ 0.000000] dump_backtrace+0x90/0xe8 [ 0.000000] show_stack+0x18/0x24 [ 0.000000] dump_stack_lvl+0x74/0x8c [ 0.000000] dump_stack+0x18/0x24 [ 0.000000] print_trailer+0x150/0x218 [ 0.000000] check_object+0xe4/0x454 [ 0.000000] free_to_partial_list+0x2f8/0x5ec To address the issue, use orig_size to clear the used area. And restore the value of orig_size after clear the remaining area. When CONFIG_SLUB_DEBUG not defined, (get_orig_size()' directly returns s->object_size. So when using memset to init the area, the size can simply be orig_size, as orig_size returns object_size when CONFIG_SLUB_DEBUG not enabled. And orig_size can never be bigger than object_size.
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
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.6.160, 6.10.14, 6.11.3, 6.12
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2025:6966 Released 2025-05-13 · Red Hat rating Moderatekernel security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) kernel-64k-debug-devel-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-64k-devel-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6 +12
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) kernel-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-64k-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-64k-core-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6 +28
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) kernel-tools-libs-devel-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, libperf-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-64k-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-64k-core-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6 +21
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6 +11
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:6966 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:6966 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:6966 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:6966 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:6966 |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2024-49885
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-2h93-g5hm-9qcv
- 2026-10-21 Fix available: Linux/[email protected], Linux/Linux@7299868253c0e8ba9bf31f6e5198e8eafa1e700b · CNA
- 2026-10-21 1 new reference · CNA
- 2026-10-29 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Patch 3
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
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Sources
- CVE-2024-49885 · CVE Program
- CVE-2024-49885 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-2h93-g5hm-9qcv · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2024-49885 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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