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CVE-2024-36881

5.5 · MEDIUM

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/userfaultfd: reset ptes when close() for wr-protected ones Userfaultfd unregister includes a step to remove wr-protect bits…

Published May 30, 2024EPSS 0.24%

Overview

CVE-2024-36881 is a medium-severity vulnerability. It was published on May 30, 2024 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.

Technical description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

mm/userfaultfd: reset ptes when close() for wr-protected ones

Userfaultfd unregister includes a step to remove wr-protect bits from all

the relevant pgtable entries, but that only covered an explicit

UFFDIO_UNREGISTER ioctl, not a close() on the userfaultfd itself. Cover

that too. This fixes a WARN trace.

The only user visible side effect is the user can observe leftover

wr-protect bits even if the user close()ed on an userfaultfd when

releasing the last reference of it. However hopefully that should be

harmless, and nothing bad should happen even if so.

This change is now more important after the recent page-table-check

patch we merged in mm-unstable (446dd9ad37d0 ("mm/page_table_check:

support userfault wr-protect entries")), as we'll do sanity check on

uffd-wp bits without vma context. So it's better if we can 100%

guarantee no uffd-wp bit leftovers, to make sure each report will be

valid.

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2024-36881?

CVE-2024-36881 is a medium-severity vulnerability. It was published on May 30, 2024 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2024-36881?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2024-36881?

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2024-36881?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2024-36881 is actually reachable in your own applications and APIs, then verifies each finding before reporting it. That tells you if the weakness is a real, exploitable risk in your environment or a false positive you can safely deprioritize.

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