CVE-2024-27058 – A race condition vulnerability in the Linux ker... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2024-27058?

CVE-2024-27058 has a CVSS score of 4.7 (MEDIUM). A race condition vulnerability in the Linux kernel's tmpfs filesystem when handling disk quota (dquot) red-black tree operations. This allows concurrent threads to access the tree root without proper synchronization, potentially causing kernel warnings or system instability. Affects Linux systems using tmpfs with disk quotas enabled.

📋 TL;DR

A race condition vulnerability in the Linux kernel's tmpfs filesystem when handling disk quota (dquot) red-black tree operations. This allows concurrent threads to access the tree root without proper synchronization, potentially causing kernel warnings or system instability. Affects Linux systems using tmpfs with disk quotas enabled.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Linux kernel

Versions: Specific affected versions not specified in CVE; check kernel commit history for impacted releases.

Operating Systems: Linux distributions using vulnerable kernel versions

Default Config Vulnerable: ✅ No

Notes: Only affects systems with tmpfs filesystems using disk quotas (not enabled by default).

📦 What is this software?

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Kernel panic or system crash due to corrupted tree structure leading to memory corruption or denial of service.

🟠

Likely Case

Kernel warning messages in system logs and potential denial of service for processes using tmpfs with quotas.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minor performance impact from proper synchronization with no security compromise.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - Requires local access and specific tmpfs/quota configuration.

🏢 Internal Only: LOW - Requires local user access and specific configuration; primarily a stability issue.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: NO

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: HIGH

Requires local access, specific timing conditions, and tmpfs with quotas enabled. Primarily a stability bug rather than security exploit.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Kernel commits: 0a69b6b3a026543bc215ccc866d0aea5579e6ce2, 617d55b90e73c7b4aa2733ca6cc3f9b72d1124bb, c7077f43f30d817d10a9f8245e51576ac114b2f0, f82f184874d2761ebaa60dccf577921a0dbb3810

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0a69b6b3a026543bc215ccc866d0aea5579e6ce2

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to version containing fixes. 2. Check distribution-specific security advisories. 3. Reboot system after kernel update.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable tmpfs disk quotas

linux

Disable quota support on tmpfs filesystems if not required

mount -o remount,noquota /dev/shm
Edit /etc/fstab to add 'noquota' option for tmpfs mounts

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Avoid using disk quotas on tmpfs filesystems
Monitor system logs for kernel warnings related to dquot or tmpfs

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check kernel version and if tmpfs mounts have quota options enabled: mount | grep tmpfs

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify kernel version includes fix commits and no dquot-related warnings appear in dmesg

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Kernel warnings about 'dquot' or 'rb_tree' in /var/log/messages or dmesg output
System logs showing quota-related errors on tmpfs

Network Indicators:

None - local filesystem issue

SIEM Query:

source="kernel" AND ("dquot" OR "rb_tree" OR "tmpfs") AND ("warning" OR "error")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2024-27058

CVSS v3 Score: 4.7 (MEDIUM)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

CWE: CWE-362

Published: May 1, 2024

Last Updated: April 8, 2025

🔗 References

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🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

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