CVE-2024-56681

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

crypto: bcm - add error check in the ahash_hmac_init function

The ahash_init functions may return fails. The ahash_hmac_init should not return ok when ahash_init returns error. For an example, ahash_init will return -ENOMEM when allocation memory is error.

A low impact vulnerability was found in the Linux kernel Broadcom crypto driver. The ahash_hmac_init() function in drivers/crypto/bcm/cipher.c did not check the return value of ahash_init() and could report success even when initialization failed, for example when a memory allocation error causes ahash_init() to return -ENOMEM. Continuing with an incompletely initialized ahash/HMAC context could lead to a system crash or other denial of service within the crypto subsystem. Red Hat assessed the impact of this flaw as Low because it requires local access and only affects availability.

The kernel and kernel-rt packages in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 are affected, and the fix is currently deferred in these releases. The residual risk is limited: a local user able to trigger the failing initialization path in the Broadcom crypto driver could cause a system crash or instability, with no confidentiality or integrity impact. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and 7 Extended Lifecycle Support streams are not affected. The CVE.org record scores this issue as Important (CVSS 3.1 score of 7.8), which is higher than Red Hat's assessment; Red Hat's CVSS 3.1 score of 4.4 (Modererate) reflects the local attack vector, the privileges required, and the availability-only impact.

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 for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base, or stability.