CVE-2024-38588
kernel: ftrace: Fix possible use-after-free issue in ftrace_location()
Severity
LowRed Hat Product Security
CVSS 3.1
Review impact separately from score.
Published · June 19, 2024
Updated · November 21, 2025
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ftrace: Fix possible use-after-free issue in ftrace_location()
KASAN reports a bug:
BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in ftrace_location+0x90/0x120 Read of size 8 at addr ffff888141d40010 by task insmod/424 CPU: 8 PID: 424 Comm: insmod Tainted: G W 6.9.0-rc2+ [...] Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x68/0xa0 print_report+0xcf/0x610 kasan_report+0xb5/0xe0 ftrace_location+0x90/0x120 register_kprobe+0x14b/0xa40 kprobe_init+0x2d/0xff0 [kprobe_example] do_one_initcall+0x8f/0x2d0 do_init_module+0x13a/0x3c0 load_module+0x3082/0x33d0 init_module_from_file+0xd2/0x130 __x64_sys_finit_module+0x306/0x440 do_syscall_64+0x68/0x140 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x71/0x79
The root cause is that, in lookup_rec(), ftrace record of some address is being searched in ftrace pages of some module, but those ftrace pages at the same time is being freed in ftrace_release_mod() as the corresponding module is being deleted:
CPU1 | CPU2
register_kprobes() { | delete_module() { check_kprobe_address_safe() { | arch_check_ftrace_location() { | ftrace_location() { | lookup_rec() // USE! | ftrace_release_mod() // Free!
To fix this issue:
- Hold rcu lock as accessing ftrace pages in ftrace_location_range();
- Use ftrace_location_range() instead of lookup_rec() in ftrace_location();
- Call synchronize_rcu() before freeing any ftrace pages both in ftrace_process_locs()/ftrace_release_mod()/ftrace_free_mem().
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 · 5.2CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H
CWE-416 · Use After Free