CVE-2024-56576 – A race condition vulnerability in the Linux ker... (How to Fix)

📋 TL;DR

A race condition vulnerability in the Linux kernel's tc358743 media driver causes a use-after-free crash when device probe fails while using polling mode. This affects Linux systems using the tc358743 I2C video decoder driver. The vulnerability can lead to kernel crashes and potential denial of service.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Linux kernel with tc358743 driver

Versions: Linux kernel versions containing vulnerable tc358743 driver code (specific versions not specified in CVE)

Operating Systems: Linux distributions using affected kernel versions

Default Config Vulnerable: ✅ No

Notes: Only vulnerable when using tc358743 I2C video decoder hardware with polling mode enabled. Most systems don't have this specific hardware.

📦 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 →

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 leading to system crash and denial of service, potentially requiring physical access to reboot affected systems.

🟠

Likely Case

System instability or crash when tc358743 device initialization fails, requiring reboot to recover.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minor system disruption requiring manual intervention to restart affected services.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - This is a local kernel driver vulnerability requiring specific hardware/driver configuration.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Affects systems with tc358743 hardware, potentially causing production disruptions in embedded/media systems.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: NO

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: HIGH

Exploitation requires specific hardware configuration and triggering device probe failure. More likely to be triggered accidentally than maliciously.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Patched in Linux kernel stable releases via commits referenced in CVE

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/13193a97ddd5a6a5b11408ddbc1ae85588b1860c

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to version containing fix commits
2. Rebuild kernel if compiling from source
3. Reboot system to load patched kernel

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable tc358743 driver

linux

Prevent loading of vulnerable driver module

echo 'blacklist tc358743' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
rmmod tc358743

Avoid polling mode

linux

Configure driver to use interrupt mode instead of polling

modprobe tc358743 use_polling=0

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Ensure tc358743 hardware is not present or connected to vulnerable systems
Implement monitoring for kernel crashes and have recovery procedures ready

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check if tc358743 module is loaded: lsmod | grep tc358743

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Check kernel version contains fix commits or verify tc358743 driver version

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Kernel panic messages
WARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 0 at kernel/time/timer.c:1830
tc358743 probe failure logs

Network Indicators:

None - local kernel issue

SIEM Query:

source="kernel" AND ("tc358743" OR "timer.c:1830" OR "__run_timers")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2024-56576

CVSS v3 Score: 4.7 (MEDIUM)

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

CWE: CWE-362

Published: December 27, 2024

Last Updated: November 3, 2025

🔗 References

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🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

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