CVE-2024-56655

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

netfilter: nf_tables: do not defer rule destruction via call_rcu

nf_tables_chain_destroy can sleep, it can't be used from call_rcu callbacks.

Moreover, nf_tables_rule_release() is only safe for error unwinding, while transaction mutex is held and the to-be-desroyed rule was not exposed to either dataplane or dumps, as it deactives+frees without the required synchronize_rcu() in-between.

nft_rule_expr_deactivate() callbacks will change ->use counters of other chains/sets, see e.g. nft_lookup .deactivate callback, these must be serialized via transaction mutex.

Also add a few lockdep asserts to make this more explicit.

Calling synchronize_rcu() isn't ideal, but fixing this without is hard and way more intrusive. As-is, we can get:

WARNING: .. net/netfilter/nf_tables_api.c:5515 nft_set_destroy+0x.. Workqueue: events nf_tables_trans_destroy_work RIP: 0010:nft_set_destroy+0x3fe/0x5c0 Call Trace: <TASK> nf_tables_trans_destroy_work+0x6b7/0xad0 process_one_work+0x64a/0xce0 worker_thread+0x613/0x10d0

In case the synchronize_rcu becomes an issue, we can explore alternatives.

One way would be to allocate nft_trans_rule objects + one nft_trans_chain object, deactivate the rules + the chain and then defer the freeing to the nft destroy workqueue. We'd still need to keep the synchronize_rcu path as a fallback to handle -ENOMEM corner cases though.

Red Hat has evaluated this vulnerability as having a Moderate impact because exploitation requires local system access with administrative network capabilities or the ability to create unprivileged user namespaces. The flaw stems from improper synchronization during deferred rule destruction in the netfilter subsystem, which can trigger kernel warnings and potentially crash the system. Since exploitation cannot be achieved remotely without elevated privileges, the overall security risk to standard enterprise installations remains contained.

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.