CVE-2024-27077 – This CVE describes a memory leak vulnerability ... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2024-27077?

CVE-2024-27077 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (MEDIUM). This CVE describes a memory leak vulnerability in the Linux kernel's V4L2 video framework. When the v4l2_m2m_register_entity function fails during device registration, it doesn't properly free allocated memory for entity names, causing gradual memory exhaustion. This affects systems using V4L2 video capture/processing, particularly embedded devices and servers with video hardware.

📋 TL;DR

This CVE describes a memory leak vulnerability in the Linux kernel's V4L2 video framework. When the v4l2_m2m_register_entity function fails during device registration, it doesn't properly free allocated memory for entity names, causing gradual memory exhaustion. This affects systems using V4L2 video capture/processing, particularly embedded devices and servers with video hardware.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Linux kernel

Versions: Specific affected versions not explicitly stated in CVE; check kernel commit history for vulnerable versions

Operating Systems: Linux distributions using affected kernel versions

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Only affects systems using V4L2 (Video4Linux2) framework with m2m (memory-to-memory) video processing devices. Embedded systems, media servers, and devices with video capture hardware are most likely affected.

📦 What is this software?

Debian Linux by Debian

View all CVEs affecting Debian Linux →

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 →

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

Sustained exploitation could cause kernel memory exhaustion leading to system instability, denial of service, or potential kernel crashes requiring reboot.

🟠

Likely Case

Gradual memory consumption over time causing performance degradation and eventual system instability in affected video processing applications.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minimal impact with proper monitoring and restart procedures; memory leak would be contained to specific video processing operations.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - Requires local access or specific video device interaction; not directly exploitable over network.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Affects systems with video capture/processing capabilities; could impact critical video processing services internally.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: NO

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires triggering the specific error path in v4l2_m2m_register_entity function. Attacker needs ability to interact with V4L2 devices and trigger registration failures.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Kernel commits: 0175f2d34c85744f9ad6554f696cf0afb5bd04e4, 0c9550b032de48d6a7fa6a4ddc09699d64d9300d, 3dd8abb0ed0e0a7c66d6d677c86ccb188cc39333, 5dc319cc3c4f7b74f7dfba349aa26f87efb52458, 8f94b49a5b5d386c038e355bef6347298aabd211

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0175f2d34c85744f9ad6554f696cf0afb5bd04e4

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to version containing the fix commits. 2. Check your distribution's security advisories for backported patches. 3. Rebuild kernel if compiling from source. 4. Reboot system to load patched kernel.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable V4L2 m2m devices

linux

Prevent use of vulnerable V4L2 memory-to-memory video processing devices

modprobe -r v4l2-mem2mem
echo 'blacklist v4l2-mem2mem' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

Restrict video device access

linux

Limit access to video devices to prevent triggering the vulnerability

chmod 600 /dev/video*
setfacl -m u:video:rw /dev/video*

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Monitor system memory usage for unusual growth patterns
Implement regular system reboots to clear accumulated memory leaks
Restrict user access to video devices and V4L2 interfaces
Disable unnecessary video capture/processing services

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check kernel version and verify if V4L2 m2m module is loaded: lsmod | grep v4l2_m2m

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify kernel contains fix commits: git log --oneline | grep -E '0175f2d34c85744f9ad6554f696cf0afb5bd04e4|0c9550b032de48d6a7fa6a4ddc09699d64d9300d|3dd8abb0ed0e0a7c66d6d677c86ccb188cc39333|5dc319cc3c4f7b74f7dfba349aa26f87efb52458|8f94b49a5b5d386c038e355bef6347298aabd211'

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Kernel oom-killer messages
System memory exhaustion warnings
V4L2 device registration failures in dmesg

Network Indicators:

Not applicable - local vulnerability

SIEM Query:

source="kernel" AND ("out of memory" OR "oom" OR "v4l2" OR "memory leak")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2024-27077

CVSS v3 Score: 5.5 (MEDIUM)

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

CWE: CWE-401

Published: May 1, 2024

Last Updated: December 23, 2024

🔗 References

📤 Share & Export

📄 Export Markdown 📋 Export JSON

🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

If you're affected by CVE-2024-27077, you might also want to check these: