{"id":"CVE-2024-57979","title":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\npps: Fix a use-after-free\n\nOn a board running ntpd and gpsd, I'm seeing a consistent use-after-free\nin sys_exit() from gpsd when rebooting:\n\n    pps pps1: removed\n    -…","summary":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\npps: Fix a use-after-free\n\nOn a board running ntpd and gpsd, I'm seeing a consistent use-after-free\nin sys_exit() from gpsd when rebooting:\n\n    pps pps1: removed\n    -…","severity":"high","cvss":7.8,"cvssVector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","cwe":["CWE-416"],"vendor":"linux","product":"linux_kernel","affected":["linux_kernel >= 3.2.40, < 3.3","linux_kernel >= 3.4.87, < 3.5","linux_kernel >= 3.8.1, < 5.4.291","linux_kernel >= 5.5, < 5.10.235","linux_kernel >= 5.11, < 5.15.179","linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 6.1.129","linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.6.76","linux_kernel >= 6.7, < 6.12.13","linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.13.2"],"patched":["linux_kernel 6.13.2"],"published":"2025-02-27","updated":"2026-07-14","source":"NVD","sourceUrl":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-57979","references":[{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1a7735ab2cb9747518a7416fb5929e85442dec62","label":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/785c78ed0d39d1717cca3ef931d3e51337b5e90e","label":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7e5ee3281dc09014367f5112b6d566ba36ea2d49","label":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/85241f7de216f8298f6e48540ea13d7dcd100870","label":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/91932db1d96b2952299ce30c1c693d834d10ace6","label":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c4041b6b0a7a3def8cf3f3d6120ff337bc4c40f7","label":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c79a39dc8d060b9e64e8b0fa9d245d44befeefbe","label":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cd3bbcb6b3a7caa5ce67de76723b6d8531fb7f64","label":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"},{"url":"https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/03/msg00028.html","label":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00030.html","label":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-019113.html","label":"0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e"},{"url":"https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-265688.html","label":"0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e"}],"tags":["nvd","cve.org"],"epss":0.00261,"epssPercentile":0.18172,"ingestedAt":"2026-07-14T13:36:55.092Z","ssvc":{"exploitation":"none","automatable":"no","technicalImpact":"total","timestamp":"2025-02-27T18:14:45.747533Z"},"slug":"CVE-2024-57979","body":"## Overview\n\nIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\npps: Fix a use-after-free\n\nOn a board running ntpd and gpsd, I'm seeing a consistent use-after-free\nin sys_exit() from gpsd when rebooting:\n\n    pps pps1: removed\n    ------------[ cut here ]------------\n    kobject: '(null)' (00000000db4bec24): is not initialized, yet kobject_put() is being called.\n    WARNING: CPU: 2 PID: 440 at lib/kobject.c:734 kobject_put+0x120/0x150\n    CPU: 2 UID: 299 PID: 440 Comm: gpsd Not tainted 6.11.0-rc6-00308-gb31c44928842 #1\n    Hardware name: Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Rev 1.1 (DT)\n    pstate: 60000005 (nZCv daif -PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--)\n    pc : kobject_put+0x120/0x150\n    lr : kobject_put+0x120/0x150\n    sp : ffffffc0803d3ae0\n    x29: ffffffc0803d3ae0 x28: ffffff8042dc9738 x27: 0000000000000001\n    x26: 0000000000000000 x25: ffffff8042dc9040 x24: ffffff8042dc9440\n    x23: ffffff80402a4620 x22: ffffff8042ef4bd0 x21: ffffff80405cb600\n    x20: 000000000008001b x19: ffffff8040b3b6e0 x18: 0000000000000000\n    x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000000 x15: 696e6920746f6e20\n    x14: 7369203a29343263 x13: 205d303434542020 x12: 0000000000000000\n    x11: 0000000000000000 x10: 0000000000000000 x9 : 0000000000000000\n    x8 : 0000000000000000 x7 : 0000000000000000 x6 : 0000000000000000\n    x5 : 0000000000000000 x4 : 0000000000000000 x3 : 0000000000000000\n    x2 : 0000000000000000 x1 : 0000000000000000 x0 : 0000000000000000\n    Call trace:\n     kobject_put+0x120/0x150\n     cdev_put+0x20/0x3c\n     __fput+0x2c4/0x2d8\n     ____fput+0x1c/0x38\n     task_work_run+0x70/0xfc\n     do_exit+0x2a0/0x924\n     do_group_exit+0x34/0x90\n     get_signal+0x7fc/0x8c0\n     do_signal+0x128/0x13b4\n     do_notify_resume+0xdc/0x160\n     el0_svc+0xd4/0xf8\n     el0t_64_sync_handler+0x140/0x14c\n     el0t_64_sync+0x190/0x194\n    ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---\n\n...followed by more symptoms of corruption, with similar stacks:\n\n    refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free.\n    kernel BUG at lib/list_debug.c:62!\n    Kernel panic - not syncing: Oops - BUG: Fatal exception\n\nThis happens because pps_device_destruct() frees the pps_device with the\nembedded cdev immediately after calling cdev_del(), but, as the comment\nabove cdev_del() notes, fops for previously opened cdevs are still\ncallable even after cdev_del() returns. I think this bug has always\nbeen there: I can't explain why it suddenly started happening every time\nI reboot this particular board.\n\nIn commit d953e0e837e6 (\"pps: Fix a use-after free bug when\nunregistering a source.\"), George Spelvin suggested removing the\nembedded cdev. That seems like the simplest way to fix this, so I've\nimplemented his suggestion, using __register_chrdev() with pps_idr\nbecoming the source of truth for which minor corresponds to which\ndevice.\n\nBut now that pps_idr defines userspace visibility instead of cdev_add(),\nwe need to be sure the pps->dev refcount can't reach zero while\nuserspace can still find it again. So, the idr_remove() call moves to\npps_unregister_cdev(), and pps_idr now holds a reference to pps->dev.\n\n    pps_core: source serial1 got cdev (251:1)\n    <...>\n    pps pps1: removed\n    pps_core: unregistering pps1\n    pps_core: deallocating pps1\n\n## Affected\n\n- `linux_kernel >= 3.2.40, < 3.3`\n- `linux_kernel >= 3.4.87, < 3.5`\n- `linux_kernel >= 3.8.1, < 5.4.291`\n- `linux_kernel >= 5.5, < 5.10.235`\n- `linux_kernel >= 5.11, < 5.15.179`\n- `linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 6.1.129`\n- `linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.6.76`\n- `linux_kernel >= 6.7, < 6.12.13`\n- `linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.13.2`\n\n## Remediation\n\nUpgrade past the affected range:\n\n- `linux_kernel 6.13.2`","depth":"twilight","depthScore":43,"depthScoreParts":{"impact":42.9,"likelihood":0.1,"exploitation":0,"ransomware":0},"changes":[]}