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CVE Record

CVE-2024-26676: af_unix: Call kfree_skb() for dead unix_(sk)->oob_skb in GC.

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: af_unix: Call kfree_skb() for dead unix_(sk)->oob_skb in GC. syzbot reported a warning [0] in __unix_gc() with a repro, which creates a socketpair and sends one socket's fd to itself using the peer. socketpair(AF_UNIX, SOCK_STREAM, 0, [3, 4]) = 0 sendmsg(4, {msg_name=NULL, msg_namelen=0, msg_iov=[{iov_base="\360", iov_len=1}], msg_iovlen=1, msg_control=[{cmsg_len=20, cmsg_level=SOL_SOCKET, cmsg_type=SCM_RIGHTS, cmsg_data=[3]}], msg_controllen=24, msg_flags=0}, MSG_OOB|MSG_PROBE|MSG_DONTWAIT|MSG_ZEROCOPY) = 1 This forms a self-cyclic reference that GC should finally untangle but does not due to lack of MSG_OOB handling, resulting in memory leak. Recently, commit 11498715f266 ("af_unix: Remove io_uring code for GC.") removed io_uring's dead code in GC and revealed the problem. The code was executed at the final stage of GC and unconditionally moved all GC candidates from gc_candidates to gc_inflight_list. That papered over the reported problem by always making the following WARN_ON_ONCE(!list_empty(&gc_candidates)) false. The problem has been there since commit 2aab4b969002 ("af_unix: fix struct pid leaks in OOB support") added full scm support for MSG_OOB while fixing another bug. To fix this problem, we must call kfree_skb() for unix_sk(sk)->oob_skb if the socket still exists in gc_candidates after purging collected skb. Then, we need to set NULL to oob_skb before calling kfree_skb() because it calls last fput() and triggers unix_release_sock(), where we call duplicate kfree_skb(u->oob_skb) if not NULL. Note that the leaked socket remained being linked to a global list, so kmemleak also could not detect it. We need to check /proc/net/protocol to notice the unfreed socket. [0]: WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 2863 at net/unix/garbage.c:345 __unix_gc+0xc74/0xe80 net/unix/garbage.c:345 Modules linked in: CPU: 0 PID: 2863 Comm: kworker/u4:11 Not tainted 6.8.0-rc1-syzkaller-00583-g1701940b1a02 #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 01/25/2024 Workqueue: events_unbound __unix_gc RIP: 0010:__unix_gc+0xc74/0xe80 net/unix/garbage.c:345 Code: 8b 5c 24 50 e9 86 f8 ff ff e8 f8 e4 22 f8 31 d2 48 c7 c6 30 6a 69 89 4c 89 ef e8 97 ef ff ff e9 80 f9 ff ff e8 dd e4 22 f8 90 <0f> 0b 90 e9 7b fd ff ff 48 89 df e8 5c e7 7c f8 e9 d3 f8 ff ff e8 RSP: 0018:ffffc9000b03fba0 EFLAGS: 00010293 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffffc9000b03fc10 RCX: ffffffff816c493e RDX: ffff88802c02d940 RSI: ffffffff896982f3 RDI: ffffc9000b03fb30 RBP: ffffc9000b03fce0 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: fffff52001607f66 R10: 0000000000000003 R11: 0000000000000002 R12: dffffc0000000000 R13: ffffc9000b03fc10 R14: ffffc9000b03fc10 R15: 0000000000000001 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff8880b9400000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00005559c8677a60 CR3: 000000000d57a000 CR4: 00000000003506f0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: <TASK> process_one_work+0x889/0x15e0 kernel/workqueue.c:2633 process_scheduled_works kernel/workqueue.c:2706 [inline] worker_thread+0x8b9/0x12a0 kernel/workqueue.c:2787 kthread+0x2c6/0x3b0 kernel/kthread.c:388 ret_from_fork+0x45/0x80 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:147 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1b/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:242 </TASK>

MediumCVSS 5.5Not KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2024-26676 is a Linux kernel memory leak in AF_UNIX socket garbage collection. A local user can trigger a condition involving out-of-band UNIX socket data that leaves sockets unfreed, potentially degrading availability over time. The source bundle does not show remote exposure or data theft impact.

Executive priority

Treat as a moderate availability risk. It is not presented as remotely exploitable, but shared Linux environments should be patched through normal security maintenance because local users may be able to consume kernel memory over time.

Technical view

The bug is in net/unix garbage collection handling of unix_sk(sk)->oob_skb. A self-cyclic SCM_RIGHTS reference with MSG_OOB was not fully purged, leaving candidates in GC and leaking memory. The fix frees oob_skb and nulls the pointer before kfree_skb to avoid duplicate freeing during release.

Likely exposure

Exposure applies to Linux systems running affected kernel versions or unpatched vendor kernels containing the AF_UNIX OOB garbage-collection bug. Multi-user servers, shared compute, and container hosts are more relevant than single-user systems because exploitation requires local privileges.

Exploitation context

The CVSS vector is local, low complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, and availability-only impact. The bundle marks KEV as false and provides no evidence of active exploitation in the wild. A syzbot reproducer exists, but operational exploitation status is not established by the provided sources.

Researcher notes

The core issue is incomplete MSG_OOB handling in AF_UNIX GC after purging collected skb objects. The source notes kmemleak may miss the leaked socket because it remains linked globally; /proc/net/protocol was identified as a way to notice unfreed sockets.

Mitigation direction

  • Update to a vendor-supported kernel containing the referenced stable fixes.
  • Check Linux distribution advisories for backported fixes before relying on version strings.
  • Prioritize shared Linux hosts where untrusted local users or workloads run.
  • Monitor vendor kernel channels for any revised affected-version guidance.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux kernel versions across servers, workstations, and container hosts.
  • Map installed kernels to vendor advisories or the referenced stable commits.
  • Review whether untrusted users or workloads can execute locally on exposed hosts.
  • Check for unusual AF_UNIX socket growth using vendor-approved diagnostics.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
7

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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ATT&CK lookup starting points

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cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-401: Exact CWE lookup

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2024-26676 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.5 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

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

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
2ADP providers
6Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: noneAutomatable: noTechnical Impact: partial

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
5.5CVSS 3.1MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H1.83.6CISA-ADP

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

5.5Medium
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2024-26676Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
cvssV3_1other:ssvc
CVECVE Program Container
Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinuxf3969427fb06a2c3cd6efd7faab63505cfa76e76, ac1968ac399205fda9ee3b18f7de7416cb3a5d0d, 2aab4b96900272885bc157f8b236abf1cdc02e08, 2aab4b96900272885bc157f8b236abf1cdc02e08, 2aab4b96900272885bc157f8b236abf1cdc02e08, a59d6306263c38e5c0592ea4451ca26a0778c947, 5.15.103, 6.1.20, 6.2.7unaffected
LinuxLinux6.3, 0, 5.15.149, 6.1.78, 6.6.17, 6.7.5, 6.8affected
Weakness

CWE details

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CWE-401 · source CWE mapping

Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime

Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.