CVE-2024-53178

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Server Message Block (SMB) client subsystem. A race condition can occur when an SMB reconnection event takes place while opening a cached directory, resulting in improperly handled reference counts and memory leaks. A local user could exploit this vulnerability through concurrent file operations during connection resets, leading to a system crash and a Denial of Service (DoS).

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.

To mitigate this vulnerability, prevent the cifs kernel module from loading if SMB/CIFS network mounts are not required in your environment:

1. Create a configuration file to prevent the module from being loaded:

echo "install cifs /bin/true" >> /etc/modprobe.d/disable-cifs.conf

2. If the module is already loaded, ensure all SMB/CIFS shares are unmounted, then unload the module:

modprobe -r cifs

Caveats: Applying this mitigation disables the ability to mount SMB/CIFS network file systems. If the CIFS module cannot be safely unloaded due to active mounts or dependencies, a system reboot is required for the configuration to take effect.