CVE-2024-56715 – This CVE describes a memory leak vulnerability ... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2024-56715?

CVE-2024-56715 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (MEDIUM). This CVE describes a memory leak vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ionic network driver. When register_netdev() fails during device initialization, the driver fails to properly unregister netdev notifiers, leading to resource leakage. This affects systems using the ionic driver for network interfaces.

📋 TL;DR

This CVE describes a memory leak vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ionic network driver. When register_netdev() fails during device initialization, the driver fails to properly unregister netdev notifiers, leading to resource leakage. This affects systems using the ionic driver for network interfaces.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Linux kernel with ionic driver

Versions: Specific kernel versions containing the vulnerable code (check git commits for exact ranges)

Operating Systems: Linux distributions using affected kernel versions

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Only affects systems using the ionic network driver. Vulnerability triggers during driver initialization failures.

📦 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 →

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 lead to kernel memory exhaustion, causing system instability, denial of service, or potential kernel panic.

🟠

Likely Case

Memory leak during driver initialization failures, potentially causing resource exhaustion over time if failures occur repeatedly.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minimal impact with proper monitoring and restart mechanisms in place.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - Requires local access or driver initialization failure conditions.

🏢 Internal Only: LOW - Requires specific driver failure conditions and local access.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: NO

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: HIGH

Exploitation requires triggering specific driver initialization failure conditions, making it difficult to weaponize.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Kernel versions containing fixes from the provided git commits

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/87847938f5708b2509b279369c96572254bcf2ba

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to patched version. 2. Reboot system. 3. Verify ionic driver loads correctly.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable ionic driver

linux

Prevent loading of vulnerable ionic driver module

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

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Monitor system memory usage and kernel logs for ionic driver failures
Implement automatic restart mechanisms for systems showing memory exhaustion

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check if ionic driver is loaded: lsmod | grep ionic. Check kernel version against affected ranges.

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify kernel version is updated beyond vulnerable commits. Check dmesg for ionic driver initialization success.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Kernel logs showing ionic driver initialization failures
Memory allocation failures in kernel logs

Network Indicators:

None specific to this vulnerability

SIEM Query:

source="kernel" AND ("ionic" AND ("failed" OR "error" OR "memory"))

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2024-56715

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 29, 2024

Last Updated: November 3, 2025

🔗 References

📤 Share & Export

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🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

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