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CVE Record

CVE-2024-41066: ibmvnic: Add tx check to prevent skb leak

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ibmvnic: Add tx check to prevent skb leak Below is a summary of how the driver stores a reference to an skb during transmit: tx_buff[free_map[consumer_index]]->skb = new_skb; free_map[consumer_index] = IBMVNIC_INVALID_MAP; consumer_index ++; Where variable data looks like this: free_map == [4, IBMVNIC_INVALID_MAP, IBMVNIC_INVALID_MAP, 0, 3] consumer_index^ tx_buff == [skb=null, skb=<ptr>, skb=<ptr>, skb=null, skb=null] The driver has checks to ensure that free_map[consumer_index] pointed to a valid index but there was no check to ensure that this index pointed to an unused/null skb address. So, if, by some chance, our free_map and tx_buff lists become out of sync then we were previously risking an skb memory leak. This could then cause tcp congestion control to stop sending packets, eventually leading to ETIMEDOUT. Therefore, add a conditional to ensure that the skb address is null. If not then warn the user (because this is still a bug that should be patched) and free the old pointer to prevent memleak/tcp problems.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2024-41066 is a Linux kernel ibmvnic driver bug where transmit bookkeeping can lose track of network packet buffers. If triggered, it may leak kernel memory tied to socket buffers and lead to stalled TCP traffic/timeouts. Sources do not show active exploitation or a CVSS score, so treat urgency as operational availability risk on exposed Linux systems.

Executive priority

Prioritize patching where IBM virtual NIC networking supports critical services. This is not shown as actively exploited, but it can degrade availability and create hard-to-diagnose network failures on affected systems.

Technical view

In ibmvnic transmit handling, free_map[consumer_index] was validated as an index, but the mapped tx_buff entry was not checked for an existing skb pointer. If free_map and tx_buff become unsynchronized, assigning a new skb can leak the old one. The fix adds a null check, warns, and frees the old skb pointer.

Likely exposure

Exposure appears limited to Linux systems running affected kernel versions with the ibmvnic driver in use. The source bundle lists affected Linux ranges including 5.14 through fixed stable releases, but does not provide CPEs or distribution-specific package names.

Exploitation context

The provided sources do not identify active exploitation, public exploit code, or KEV listing. The described impact is reliability-oriented: leaked skb references may interfere with TCP sending and cause ETIMEDOUT conditions.

Researcher notes

Evidence supports a kernel-driver memory leak prevention fix, not a demonstrated remote attack path. Further assessment should focus on reachability of ibmvnic transmit paths, affected kernel lineage, and vendor backport status.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply vendor or distribution kernel updates containing the referenced stable fixes.
  • Prioritize systems using ibmvnic in production network paths.
  • Check Debian LTS and other distro advisories for fixed package versions.
  • If immediate patching is delayed, monitor affected hosts for network timeouts and kernel warnings.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux hosts for kernel versions and ibmvnic driver usage.
  • Compare installed kernels with vendor advisories and referenced stable commits.
  • Review logs for ibmvnic warnings, skb leak indicators, or recurring TCP ETIMEDOUT symptoms.
  • Confirm patched systems include the tx_buff skb null-check behavior.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
7

Public sources used

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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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
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.

0CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
2ADP providers
6Source links

SSVC decision data

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

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

CVECVE Program Container
CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
other:ssvc

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux65d6470d139a6c1655fccb5cbacbeaba8e8ad2f8, 65d6470d139a6c1655fccb5cbacbeaba8e8ad2f8, 65d6470d139a6c1655fccb5cbacbeaba8e8ad2f8, 65d6470d139a6c1655fccb5cbacbeaba8e8ad2f8, 1a64564eee05128f773930649edfdd50cbe80656, 5142c39253385702a4de8f897027e1d76fc333de, 5.12.17, 5.13.2unaffected
LinuxLinux5.14, 0, 6.1.101, 6.6.42, 6.9.11, 6.10affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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