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CVE-2024-53178

smb: Don't leak cfid when reconnect races with open_cached_dir

7.5 EPSS 0.5% AV:N

Published 2024-12-27 (22 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem fs/smb. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.

What to do, per Debian release

Debian's own status for CVE-2024-53178 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source

ReleaseStatus VersionWhat this means
Debian 12bookwormvulnerable6.1.190-1No fix published anywhere yet, neither in Debian nor upstream for the series bookworm tracks. Watch the Debian tracker page for this CVE. Advisories for bookworm have historically landed a median of 23 days after publication.
Debian 13trixiefixed6.12.3-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.3-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian 14forkyfixed6.12.3-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.3-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian unstablesidfixed6.12.3-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.3-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.

The vulnerability

What the bug is

open_cached_dir() may either race with the tcon reconnection even before compound_send_recv() or directly trigger a reconnection via SMB2_open_init() or SMB_query_info_init(). The reconnection process invokes invalidate_all_cached_dirs() via cifs_mark_open_files_invalid(), which removes all cfids from the cfids->entries list but doesn't drop a ref if has_lease isn't true. This results in the currently-being-constructed cfid not being on the list, but still having a refcount of 2. It leaks if returned from open_cached_dir(). Fix this by setting cfid->has_lease when the ref is actually taken; the cfid will not be used by other threads until it has a valid time. Addresses these kmemleaks: unreferenced object 0xffff8881090c4000 (size 1024): comm "bash", pid 1860, jiffies 4295126592 hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 01 00 00 00 00 ad de 22 01 00 00 00 00 ad de ........"....... 00 ca 45 22 81 88 ff ff f8 dc 4f 04 81 88 ff ff ..E"......O..... backtrace (crc 6f58c20f): [<ffffffff8b895a1e>] __kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x2be/0x350 [<ffffffff8bda06e3>] open_cached_dir+0x993/0x1fb0 [<ffffffff8bdaa750>] cifs_readdir+0x15a0/0x1d50 [<ffffffff8b9a853f>] iterate_dir+0x28f/0x4b0 [<ffffffff8b9a9aed>] __x64_sys_getdents64+0xfd/0x200 [<ffffffff8cf6da05>] do_syscall_64+0x95/0x1a0 [<ffffffff8d00012f>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e unreferenced object 0xffff8881044fdcf8 (size 8): comm "bash", pid 1860, jiffies 4295126592 hex dump (first 8 bytes): 00 cc cc cc cc cc cc cc ........ backtrace (crc 10c106a9): [<ffffffff8b89a3d3>] __kmalloc_node_track_caller_noprof+0x363/0x480 [<ffffffff8b7d7256>] kstrdup+0x36/0x60 [<ffffffff8bda0700>] open_cached_dir+0x9b0/0x1fb0 [<ffffffff8bdaa750>] cifs_readdir+0x15a0/0x1d50 [<ffffffff8b9a853f>] iterate_dir+0x28f/0x4b0 [<ffffffff8b9a9aed>] __x64_sys_getdents64+0xfd/0x200 [<ffffffff8cf6da05>] do_syscall_64+0x95/0x1a0 [<ffffffff8d00012f>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e And addresses these BUG splats when unmounting the SMB filesystem: BUG: Dentry ffff888140590ba0{i=1000000000080,n=/} still in use (2) [unmount of cifs cifs] WARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 3433 at fs/dcache.c:1536 umount_check+0xd0/0x100 Modules linked in: CPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 3433 Comm: bash Not tainted 6.12.0-rc4-g850925a8133c-dirty #49 Hardware name: VMware, Inc. VMware Virtual Platform/440BX Desktop Reference Platform, BIOS 6.00 11/12/2020 RIP: 0010:umount_check+0xd0/0x100 Code: 8d 7c 24 40 e8 31 5a f4 ff 49 8b 54 24 40 41 56 49 89 e9 45 89 e8 48 89 d9 41 57 48 89 de 48 c7 c7 80 e7 db ac e8 f0 72 9a ff <0f> 0b 58 31 c0 5a 5b 5d 41 5c 41 5d 41 5e 41 5f e9 2b e5 5d 01 41 RSP: 0018:ffff88811cc27978 EFLAGS: 00010286 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff888140590ba0 RCX: ffffffffaaf20bae RDX: dffffc0000000000 RSI: 0000000000000008 RDI: ffff8881f6fb6f40 RBP: ffff8881462ec000 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: ffffed1023984ee3 R10: ffff88811cc2771f R11: 00000000016cfcc0 R12: ffff888134383e08 R13: 0000000000000002 R14: ffff8881462ec668 R15: ffffffffaceab4c0 FS: 00007f23bfa98740(0000) GS:ffff8881f6f80000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000556de4a6f808 CR3: 0000000123c80000 CR4: 0000000000350ef0 Call Trace: <TASK> d_walk+0x6a/0x530 shrink_dcache_for_umount+0x6a/0x200 generic_shutdown_super+0x52/0x2a0 kill_anon_super+0x22/0x40 cifs_kill_sb+0x159/0x1e0 deactivate_locked_super+0x66/0xe0 cleanup_mnt+0x140/0x210 task_work_run+0xfb/0x170 syscall_exit_to_user_mode+0x29f/0x2b0 do_syscall_64+0xa1/0x1a0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e RIP: 0033:0x7f23bfb93ae7 Code: ff ff ff ff c3 66 0f 1f 44 00 00 48 8b 0d 11 93 0d 00 f7 d8 64 89 01 b8 ff ff ff ff eb bf 0f 1f 44 00 00 b8 50 00 00 00 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 8b 0d e9 92 0d 00 f7 d8 64 89 ---truncated---

Where it lives

The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.

fs/smb/client/cached_dir.c

What this is
COMMON INTERNET FILE SYSTEM CLIENT (CIFS and SMB3)MAINTAINERS section matched on fs/smb/client/ · linux-cifs@vger.kernel.org · Supported
Kernel module
cifs

Check it on the machine

grep -wE 'CONFIG_CIFS|CONFIG_SMBFS' /boot/config-$(uname -r)

Reads the booted kernel's own configuration, on the machine and nowhere else. =y is built in, =m is a module, and an is not set line means the code is not there.

lsmod | grep -w cifs

Prints a line if that module is loaded right now, and nothing if it is not. One that is not loaded can still be loaded later by anything that needs it.

Show whether Debian builds this, per release

Debian builds this as a loadable module. Every release below compiles it as a module on every flavour, so whether the code is in the running kernel depends on whether that module is loaded.

  • bookworm, trixie, forky, sidm
m
a loadable module on every flavour - check lsmod, can be blacklisted
Build switches
CONFIG_CIFS, CONFIG_SMBFS
Reads as
all on means the file is compiled; any one off means it is not.

From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS kbuild Makefiles Debian linux-config packages

Signals

Published
2024-12-27 (22 months ago)source
CVSS
7.5 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:Hsource recompute it
Attack vector
network (AV:N)source
EPSS
0.54%, higher than 44.5% of all CVEssource
CISA KEV
not listedthe KEV catalogue
Debian urgency
not yet assignedsource
Subsystem
fs/smb

Upstream fixes

The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source

IntroducedFixed inCommit
6.16.6.6431fabf70d583
6.16.11.111d76332d783d
6.16.12.273a57b25b4df
6.16.137afb86733685

Why the CNA scored it this way

Quoted from the kernel CNA's own scoring file, word for word. A highlighted metric carries the most severe value CVSS v3.1 defines for it, which is what pushes the score up. source

AV:NAttack vector, network
The SMB client's cached-dir code reacts directly to remote peer behaviour — a malicious or compromised SMB server, or an on-path attacker able to drop/reset the tcp/445 connection, sets `tcon->need_reconnect` (via `cifs_reconnect()` or a `STATUS_NETWORK_NAME_DELETED` response) and thereby drives `invalidate_all_cached_dirs()` into the window that leaks the cfid.
AC:LAttack complexity, low
The attacker controls the reconnect side and can force it repeatedly; moreover `open_cached_dir()` triggers the reconnect synchronously inside `SMB2_open_init()` once `need_reconnect` is set, so the leak is deterministic rather than a race that must be won, and each leak pins another dentry/inode.
PR:NPrivileges required, none
No credentials or privileges on the target client are needed — the attack originates from the server/network side, and the client-side trigger is an ordinary unprivileged `getdents64()`/`stat` on the mount performed by any process or background daemon.
UI:NUser interaction, none
Against an already-mounted share (fstab/autofs/automounted corporate file server) no victim action is required; routine directory access by any existing process supplies the `open_cached_dir()` call while the attacker forces reconnection.
S:UScope, unchanged
The leaked refcount, exhausted memory and resulting BUG are all confined to the kernel of the affected client; no security boundary such as a VM or IOMMU domain is crossed.
C:NConfidentiality impact, none
The defect is an over-reference/leak, not an under-reference or out-of-bounds access; no freed or out-of-bounds memory is read and no kernel data is disclosed to the attacker.
I:NIntegrity impact, none
Nothing is written out of bounds and no freed object is reused, so the bug provides no mechanism to modify kernel or user data.
A:HAvailability impact, high
Each triggered leak permanently loses a `cached_fid`, its path string and a pinned dentry/inode, so repeated triggering exhausts memory, and unmounting the share hits `umount_check` WARN plus `VFS: Busy inodes after unmount` → `BUG()` at fs/super.c:661 (or `VFS_PTR_POISON`ed inodes that crash on later use) — a hard kernel crash.