Drivers: hv: util: Avoid accessing a ringbuffer not initialized yet
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
- Partial Red Hat: 3 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CISA ADP. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-476.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Drivers: hv: util: Avoid accessing a ringbuffer not initialized yet If the KVP (or VSS) daemon starts before the VMBus channel's ringbuffer is fully initialized, we can hit the panic below: hv_utils: Registering HyperV Utility Driver hv_vmbus: registering driver hv_utils ... BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 CPU: 44 UID: 0 PID: 2552 Comm: hv_kvp_daemon Tainted: G E 6.11.0-rc3+ #1 RIP: 0010:hv_pkt_iter_first+0x12/0xd0 Call Trace: ... vmbus_recvpacket hv_kvp_onchannelcallback vmbus_on_event tasklet_action_common tasklet_action handle_softirqs irq_exit_rcu sysvec_hyperv_stimer0 </IRQ> <TASK> asm_sysvec_hyperv_stimer0 ... kvp_register_done hvt_op_read vfs_read ksys_read __x64_sys_read This can happen because the KVP/VSS channel callback can be invoked even before the channel is fully opened: 1) as soon as hv_kvp_init() -> hvutil_transport_init() creates /dev/vmbus/hv_kvp, the kvp daemon can open the device file immediately and register itself to the driver by writing a message KVP_OP_REGISTER1 to the file (which is handled by kvp_on_msg() ->kvp_handle_handshake()) and reading the file for the driver's response, which is handled by hvt_op_read(), which calls hvt->on_read(), i.e. kvp_register_done(). 2) the problem with kvp_register_done() is that it can cause the channel callback to be called even before the channel is fully opened, and when the channel callback is starting to run, util_probe()-> vmbus_open() may have not initialized the ringbuffer yet, so the callback can hit the panic of NULL pointer dereference. To reproduce the panic consistently, we can add a "ssleep(10)" for KVP in __vmbus_open(), just before the first hv_ringbuffer_init(), and then we unload and reload the driver hv_utils, and run the daemon manually within the 10 seconds. Fix the panic by reordering the steps in util_probe() so the char dev entry used by the KVP or VSS daemon is not created until after vmbus_open() has completed. This reordering prevents the race condition from happening.
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 | 4.9 and later | 5.4.289, 5.10.233, 5.15.176, 6.1.122, 6.6.68, 6.12.7, 6.13 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.9 and later Fixed in 5.4.289, 5.10.233, 5.15.176, 6.1.122, 6.6.68, 6.12.7, 6.13 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 4
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 4.9 to before 5.4.289; 5.5 to before 5.10.233; 5.11 to before 5.15.176; 5.16 to before 6.1.122; 6.2 to before 6.6.68; 6.7 to before 6.12.7 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.13 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.13 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.13 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.9 to before 5.4.289; 5.5 to before 5.10.233; 5.11 to before 5.15.176; 5.16 to before 6.1.122; 6.2 to before 6.6.68; 6.7 to before 6.12.7 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.13 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.13 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.13 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.4.289, 5.10.233, 5.15.176, 6.1.122, 6.6.68, 6.12.7, 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 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2024-55916
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-r35m-8jf8-g83g
References
Patch 7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f091a224a2c82f1e302b1768d73bb6332f687321
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d81f4e73aff9b861671df60e5100ad25cc16fbf8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/042253c57be901bfd19f15b68267442b70f510d5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/718fe694a334be9d1a89eed22602369ac18d6583
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/89fcec5e466b3ac9b376e0d621c71effa1a7983f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3dd7a30c6d7f90afcf19e9b072f572ba524d7ec6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/07a756a49f4b4290b49ea46e089cbe6f79ff8d26
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Sources
- CVE-2024-55916 · CVE Program
- CVE-2024-55916 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-r35m-8jf8-g83g · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2024-55916 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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