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CVE-2024-56780

5.5 MEDIUM
Denial of Service

📋 TL;DR

A race condition in the Linux kernel's quota subsystem can cause a warning message during filesystem freeze operations, potentially leading to system instability. This affects Linux systems using disk quotas with filesystems like ext4. The vulnerability requires local access to trigger.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:
  • Linux kernel
Versions: Specific affected versions not specified in CVE, but references indicate stable kernel patches from 3e6ff207cd5b to ab6cfcf8ed2c
Operating Systems: Linux distributions using affected kernel versions
Default Config Vulnerable: ✅ No
Notes: Only affects systems with disk quotas enabled and during filesystem freeze operations. Ext4 filesystem specifically mentioned but may affect other quota-supporting filesystems.

📦 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 →

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

System crash or filesystem corruption if the warning triggers during critical operations, potentially causing data loss or service disruption.

🟠

Likely Case

Kernel warning messages in system logs (dmesg) during filesystem freeze operations, which could cause monitoring alerts but minimal functional impact.

🟢

If Mitigated

No impact if patched or if quota subsystem is not actively used.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - Requires local access to trigger, not remotely exploitable.
🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Local users or automated processes could trigger the condition, potentially causing system instability.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No
Weaponized: NO
Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No
Complexity: MEDIUM

Requires local access and specific timing during filesystem freeze operations. More of a stability issue than a security exploit.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Kernel versions with commits 3e6ff207cd5bd924ad94cd1a7c633bcdac0ba1cb through ab6cfcf8ed2c7496f55d020b65b1d8cd55d9a2cb

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3e6ff207cd5bd924ad94cd1a7c633bcdac0ba1cb

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to patched version from your distribution vendor. 2. Reboot system to load new kernel. 3. Verify patch applied with 'uname -r' and check kernel changelog.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable disk quotas

linux

If quotas are not needed, disable them to avoid the race condition

# Check quota status: quotaon -p
# Disable quotas: quotaoff -a

Avoid filesystem freeze operations

linux

Prevent triggering the race condition by avoiding filesystem freeze

# Monitor for freeze operations in logs
# Review systemd/cron jobs that might trigger freezes

🧯 If You Can't Patch

  • Disable disk quotas if not required for system operation
  • Monitor system logs for WARN_ON messages and implement alerting for potential instability

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check kernel version and if quotas are enabled: 'uname -r' and 'quotaon -p'

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Check kernel version includes patched commits: 'uname -r' and verify with distribution's kernel changelog

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

  • WARN_ON(sb->s_writers.frozen == SB_FREEZE_COMPLETE) messages in dmesg
  • ext4_journal_check_start warnings
  • quota_release_workfn errors

Network Indicators:

  • None - local only vulnerability

SIEM Query:

source="kernel" AND ("WARN_ON" AND "SB_FREEZE_COMPLETE") OR ("quota_release_workfn")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2024-56780
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
EPSS Score: 0.05% exploit probability (13.6th percentile)
Published: January 8, 2025
Last Updated: November 3, 2025

🔗 References

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