ubifs: authentication: Fix use-after-free in ubifs_tnc_end_commit
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 1 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-416 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ubifs: authentication: Fix use-after-free in ubifs_tnc_end_commit After an insertion in TNC, the tree might split and cause a node to change its `znode->parent`. A further deletion of other nodes in the tree (which also could free the nodes), the aforementioned node's `znode->cparent` could still point to a freed node. This `znode->cparent` may not be updated when getting nodes to commit in `ubifs_tnc_start_commit()`. This could then trigger a use-after-free when accessing the `znode->cparent` in `write_index()` in `ubifs_tnc_end_commit()`. This can be triggered by running rm -f /etc/test-file.bin dd if=/dev/urandom of=/etc/test-file.bin bs=1M count=60 conv=fsync in a loop, and with `CONFIG_UBIFS_FS_AUTHENTICATION`. KASAN then reports: BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in ubifs_tnc_end_commit+0xa5c/0x1950 Write of size 32 at addr ffffff800a3af86c by task ubifs_bgt0_20/153 Call trace: dump_backtrace+0x0/0x340 show_stack+0x18/0x24 dump_stack_lvl+0x9c/0xbc print_address_description.constprop.0+0x74/0x2b0 kasan_report+0x1d8/0x1f0 kasan_check_range+0xf8/0x1a0 memcpy+0x84/0xf4 ubifs_tnc_end_commit+0xa5c/0x1950 do_commit+0x4e0/0x1340 ubifs_bg_thread+0x234/0x2e0 kthread+0x36c/0x410 ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20 Allocated by task 401: kasan_save_stack+0x38/0x70 __kasan_kmalloc+0x8c/0xd0 __kmalloc+0x34c/0x5bc tnc_insert+0x140/0x16a4 ubifs_tnc_add+0x370/0x52c ubifs_jnl_write_data+0x5d8/0x870 do_writepage+0x36c/0x510 ubifs_writepage+0x190/0x4dc __writepage+0x58/0x154 write_cache_pages+0x394/0x830 do_writepages+0x1f0/0x5b0 filemap_fdatawrite_wbc+0x170/0x25c file_write_and_wait_range+0x140/0x190 ubifs_fsync+0xe8/0x290 vfs_fsync_range+0xc0/0x1e4 do_fsync+0x40/0x90 __arm64_sys_fsync+0x34/0x50 invoke_syscall.constprop.0+0xa8/0x260 do_el0_svc+0xc8/0x1f0 el0_svc+0x34/0x70 el0t_64_sync_handler+0x108/0x114 el0t_64_sync+0x1a4/0x1a8 Freed by task 403: kasan_save_stack+0x38/0x70 kasan_set_track+0x28/0x40 kasan_set_free_info+0x28/0x4c __kasan_slab_free+0xd4/0x13c kfree+0xc4/0x3a0 tnc_delete+0x3f4/0xe40 ubifs_tnc_remove_range+0x368/0x73c ubifs_tnc_remove_ino+0x29c/0x2e0 ubifs_jnl_delete_inode+0x150/0x260 ubifs_evict_inode+0x1d4/0x2e4 evict+0x1c8/0x450 iput+0x2a0/0x3c4 do_unlinkat+0x2cc/0x490 __arm64_sys_unlinkat+0x90/0x100 invoke_syscall.constprop.0+0xa8/0x260 do_el0_svc+0xc8/0x1f0 el0_svc+0x34/0x70 el0t_64_sync_handler+0x108/0x114 el0t_64_sync+0x1a4/0x1a8 The offending `memcpy()` in `ubifs_copy_hash()` has a use-after-free when a node becomes root in TNC but still has a `cparent` to an already freed node. More specifically, consider the following TNC: zroot / / zp1 / / zn Inserting a new node `zn_new` with a key smaller then `zn` will trigger a split in `tnc_insert()` if `zp1` is full: zroot / \ / \ zp1 zp2 / \ / \ zn_new zn `zn->parent` has now been moved to `zp2`, *but* `zn->cparent` still points to `zp1`. Now, consider a removal of all the nodes _except_ `zn`. Just when `tnc_delete()` is about to delete `zroot` and `zp2`: zroot \ \ zp2 \ \ zn `zroot` and `zp2` get freed and the tree collapses: zn `zn` now becomes the new `zroot`. `get_znodes_to_commit()` will now only find `zn`, the new `zroot`, and `write_index()` will check its `znode->cparent` that wrongly points to the already freed `zp1`. `ubifs_copy_hash()` thus gets wrongly called with `znode->cparent->zbranch[znode->iip].hash` that triggers the use-after-free! Fix this by explicitly setting `znode->cparent` to `NULL` in `get_znodes_to_commit()` for the root node. The search for the dirty nodes ---truncated---
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
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 | 4.20 and later | 5.4.287, 5.10.231, 5.15.174, 6.1.120, 6.6.64, 6.11.11, 6.12.2, 6.13 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.20 and later Fixed in 5.4.287, 5.10.231, 5.15.174, 6.1.120, 6.6.64, 6.11.11, 6.12.2, 6.13 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 4.20 to before 5.4.287; 5.5 to before 5.10.231; 5.11 to before 5.15.174; 5.16 to before 6.1.120; 6.2 to before 6.6.64; 6.7 to before 6.11.11; 6.12 to before 6.12.2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.20 to before 5.4.287; 5.5 to before 5.10.231; 5.11 to before 5.15.174; 5.16 to before 6.1.120; 6.2 to before 6.6.64; 6.7 to before 6.11.11; 6.12 to before 6.12.2 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.4.287, 5.10.231, 5.15.174, 6.1.120, 6.6.64, 6.11.11, 6.12.2, 6.13
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2024-53171
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-2gwr-frhx-j93x
References
Patch 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/daac4aa1825de0dbc1a6eede2fa7f9fc53f14223
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8d8b3f5f4cbfbf6cb0ea4a4d5dc296872b4151eb
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4d9807048b851d7a58d5bd089c16254af896e4df
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/74981f7577d183acad1cd58f74c10d263711a215
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/01d3a2293d7e4edfff96618c15727db7e51f11b6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/398a91599d263e41c5f95a2fd4ebdb6280b5c6c3
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2497479aecebe869d23a0064e0fd1a03e34f0e2a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4617fb8fc15effe8eda4dd898d4e33eb537a7140
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- 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-2024-53171 · CVE Program
- CVE-2024-53171 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-2gwr-frhx-j93x · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2024-53171 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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