CVE-2024-39477
📋 TL;DR
A memory management vulnerability in the Linux kernel's hugetlb subsystem where failure to allocate memory for reservation structures can cause improper handling of huge page reservations. This affects Linux systems using huge pages, potentially leading to memory corruption or system instability.
💻 Affected Systems
- Linux kernel
📦 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 →⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Kernel panic or system crash due to memory corruption, potentially causing denial of service or data loss.
Likely Case
System instability or crashes when under memory pressure while using huge pages.
If Mitigated
Minor performance impact or failed memory allocations when huge pages are in use.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires local access and ability to trigger specific memory allocation failures in hugetlb subsystem.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Patches available in stable kernel branches via provided git commits
Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8daf9c702ee7f825f0de8600abff764acfedea13
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update Linux kernel to patched version from distribution vendor. 2. Reboot system to load new kernel. 3. Verify kernel version matches patched release.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable hugetlb
linuxDisable huge pages feature to avoid vulnerability
echo never > /sys/kernel/mm/transparent_hugepage/enabled
echo 0 > /proc/sys/vm/nr_hugepages
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Monitor system memory usage and avoid memory exhaustion scenarios
- Restrict hugetlb usage to trusted processes only
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check kernel version against distribution security advisories. Vulnerable if using unpatched kernel with hugetlb enabled.Check Version:
uname -rVerify Fix Applied:
Verify kernel version includes commit 8daf9c702ee7f825f0de8600abff764acfedea13 or aa998f9dcb34c28448f86e8f5490f20d5eb0eac7📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Kernel panic logs
- OOM (Out of Memory) killer messages
- hugetlb allocation failure messages
Network Indicators:
- None - local vulnerability only
SIEM Query:
source="kernel" AND ("panic" OR "hugetlb" OR "ENOMEM")