CVE-2024-53171

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's UBIFS (Unsorted Block Image File System) file system. A local user could cause a Denial of Service (DoS) or memory corruption by performing rapid file creation and deletion operations on an authenticated filesystem. Under these conditions, internal tree node operations can leave references pointing to already freed memory. When the system subsequently commits filesystem changes, accessing this freed memory triggers a use-after-free condition that crashes the kernel.

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.

Prevent the ubifs kernel module from loading by blacklisting it in modprobe configuration.

1. Add an entry to prevent the module from loading:

echo 'install ubifs /bin/true' > /etc/modprobe.d/disable-ubifs.conf

2. If the module is already loaded, unload it:

modprobe -r ubifs

If the module is currently mounted or in use, a system reboot is required for this change to take effect.

Caveat: Disabling the ubifs module prevents the system from mounting or managing any UBIFS flash filesystems.