CVE-2024-50209

A flaw was found in the RDMA/bnxt_re component of the Linux kernel. This vulnerability occurs because the driver fails to check the return status of a memory allocation function, __alloc_pbl(). A local attacker with administrative privileges could exploit this flaw, potentially leading to system instability or a denial of service.

This issue is considered to be a moderate impact flaw, as the exploitation for this will need an ADMIN (or ROOT) privilege (PR:H).

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.

If RDMA functionality provided by the bnxt_re kernel module is not required, the module can be prevented from loading to mitigate this vulnerability. To blacklist the bnxt_re module:

1. Create a file /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-bnxt_re.conf with the following content:

   blacklist bnxt_re
   install bnxt_re /bin/true
   

2. Regenerate the initramfs:
   • For RHEL 8/9: dracut -f -v
   • For RHEL 7: dracut -f
3. Reboot the system for the changes to take effect. This mitigation will disable any functionality relying on the bnxt_re RDMA driver.