CVE-2024-53175 – This CVE describes a memory leak vulnerability ... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2024-53175?

CVE-2024-53175 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (MEDIUM). This CVE describes a memory leak vulnerability in the Linux kernel's IPC (Interprocess Communication) namespace creation. When percpu memory allocation fails during namespace creation, the kernel fails to properly release IPC and message queue sysctl resources, leading to persistent memory consumption. This affects Linux systems where new IPC namespaces are created, typically through containerization or process isolation mechanisms.

📋 TL;DR

This CVE describes a memory leak vulnerability in the Linux kernel's IPC (Interprocess Communication) namespace creation. When percpu memory allocation fails during namespace creation, the kernel fails to properly release IPC and message queue sysctl resources, leading to persistent memory consumption. This affects Linux systems where new IPC namespaces are created, typically through containerization or process isolation mechanisms.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Linux kernel

Versions: Specific affected versions not explicitly stated in CVE, but patches exist for stable branches

Operating Systems: Linux distributions using affected kernel versions

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Vulnerability triggers when creating new IPC namespaces, common in containerized environments like Docker, Kubernetes, or LXC.

📦 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

Sustained memory exhaustion leading to system instability, denial of service, or kernel panic if repeated failures occur in namespace creation.

🟠

Likely Case

Gradual memory consumption over time when namespace creation fails, potentially affecting system performance and stability.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minimal impact with proper memory monitoring and namespace creation failure handling.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - This vulnerability requires local access and specific namespace creation operations.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Containerized environments or systems creating multiple namespaces could experience memory issues.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: NO

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: HIGH

Exploitation requires local access and ability to trigger namespace creation failures. Memory leak is gradual rather than immediate.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Patches available in stable kernel branches (commits: 10209665b5bf199f8065b2e7d2b2dc6cdf227117, 3d230cfd4b9b0558c7b2039ba1def2ce6b6cd158, 8fed302872e26c7bf44d855c53a1cde747172d58, 928de5fcd462498b8334107035da8ab85e316d8a, bc8f5921cd69188627c08041276238de222ab466)

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

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to patched version from your distribution. 2. For custom kernels, apply relevant patches from kernel.org. 3. Reboot system to load new kernel.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Limit namespace creation

linux

Restrict ability to create new IPC namespaces through security modules or container runtime configurations

Use seccomp profiles to block unshare() syscall with CLONE_NEWIPC flag
Configure container runtimes to disable IPC namespace sharing

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement memory monitoring and alerting for unusual memory consumption patterns
Restrict container creation and namespace operations to trusted users only

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check kernel version and compare with patched versions from kernel.org stable branches

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify kernel version after update matches patched version, check for memory leaks during namespace creation tests

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Kernel oom-killer messages
Memory allocation failure logs
Container creation failures

Network Indicators:

Not applicable - local vulnerability

SIEM Query:

Search for kernel logs containing 'kmemleak', 'percpu allocation failed', or 'create_ipc_ns failed'

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2024-53175

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: December 27, 2024

Last Updated: November 3, 2025

🔗 References

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🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

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