CVE-2024-36489
kernel: tls: fix missing memory barrier in tls_init
Severity
LowRed Hat Product Security
CVSS 3.1
Review impact separately from score.
Published · June 21, 2024
Updated · November 2, 2026
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
tls: fix missing memory barrier in tls_init
In tls_init(), a write memory barrier is missing, and store-store reordering may cause NULL dereference in tls_{setsockopt,getsockopt}.
CPU0 CPU1
// In tls_init() // In tls_ctx_create() ctx = kzalloc() ctx->sk_proto = READ_ONCE(sk->sk_prot) -(1)
// In update_sk_prot() WRITE_ONCE(sk->sk_prot, tls_prots) -(2)
// In sock_common_setsockopt()
READ_ONCE(sk->sk_prot)->setsockopt()
// In tls_{setsockopt,getsockopt}()
ctx->sk_proto->setsockopt() -(3)
In the above scenario, when (1) and (2) are reordered, (3) can observe the NULL value of ctx->sk_proto, causing NULL dereference.
To fix it, we rely on rcu_assign_pointer() which implies the release barrier semantic. By moving rcu_assign_pointer() after ctx->sk_proto is initialized, we can ensure that ctx->sk_proto are visible when changing sk->sk_prot.
CVSS score applicability
The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.
Mitigation
No mitigation is specified in collected source.
CVSS / CWE
CVSS 3.1 · 6.1CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:L
CWE-402 · Transmission of Private Resources into a New Sphere