Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A remote, unauthenticated client can send many simultaneous SMB requests to Linux’s ksmbd server, consuming excessive kernel memory and potentially causing an out-of-memory outage. The issue affects availability, not data confidentiality or integrity. Exposure is limited to systems running ksmbd, especially where SMB is reachable from untrusted networks.
Executive priority
Treat internet-facing or broadly reachable ksmbd servers as a high-priority availability risk and update promptly. Internal, tightly restricted systems remain important but can follow risk-based scheduling. Business impact may include file-service disruption or complete host instability from memory exhaustion.
Technical view
CVE-2024-50285 is a CWE-770 resource-exhaustion flaw in Linux ksmbd. Existing SMB credit handling did not adequately bound simultaneous outstanding operations, allowing growth of the ksmbd_work_cache until memory exhaustion. The kernel fix rejects work exceeding maximum credits, assuming each SMB request consumes at least one credit.
Likely exposure
Prioritize Linux hosts or appliances running ksmbd with SMB accessible to untrusted clients. Systems not using ksmbd are unlikely to be exposed through this flaw. The supplied affected-version data is ambiguous, so confirm distribution package status and fix backports rather than relying solely on version numbers.
Exploitation context
The CVSS 3.1 score is 7.5: network-accessible, low complexity, no privileges, and no user interaction, with high availability impact. The bundle states KEV is false and provides no evidence of active exploitation or a public exploit. Do not interpret absence from KEV as proof that exploitation is impossible.
Researcher notes
The core invariant introduced by the fix is that outstanding simultaneous SMB work must not exceed maximum credits. Assessment should distinguish ksmbd from other SMB implementations and verify backported commit inclusion. The supplied version list mixes release numbers and commit identifiers, so definitive branch boundaries cannot be established from this bundle alone.
Mitigation direction
- Install a vendor-supported kernel update incorporating the referenced ksmbd fixes.
- Disable ksmbd where SMB file serving is unnecessary.
- Restrict SMB access to trusted networks and clients while updates are pending.
- Check Linux distribution advisories for backport and package-specific guidance.
Validation and detection
- Identify systems where ksmbd is loaded or SMB services use the in-kernel server.
- Record running kernel and distribution package versions on exposed systems.
- Confirm the installed kernel contains the applicable referenced fix or vendor backport.
- Review monitoring for memory spikes, ksmbd_work_cache growth, and out-of-memory events.
- Verify SMB is not exposed beyond intended network boundaries.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-770: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2024-50285 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
2 official scoresWe 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.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H3.93.6LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H1.83.6CISA-ADPVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.5HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1f993777275cbd8f74765c4f9d9285cb907c9be5CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e257ac6fe138623cf59fca8898abdf659dbc8356CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0a77d947f599b1f39065015bec99390d0c0022eeCVE reference, Linux
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.