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CVE-2024-36971Android Kernel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Patch nowHigh7.8Exploited, CISA due date 2024-08-28EPSS 2.7%, higher than 86% of scored CVEs

CVE-2024-36971 is a use after free in Android Kernel, rated high (7.8 on CVSS 3.1).

Why this priority: Exploited in the wild: listed in CISA's KEV catalog.

Published · Updated · NVD status: Analyzed

What it is

Code keeps using memory after releasing it, so an attacker who refills that memory can steer execution.

How it is reached

An attacker can exploit it by someone who can already run code or sign in on the machine, with an ordinary user account, and nobody has to click anything.

What an attacker gains

A successful attack can read the data it protects, change data or behaviour and take it offline. In practice, this kind of flaw lets an attacker crash the process, read memory, or in the worst case run code.

Is it being exploited?

CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2024-08-07: it is being exploited in the wild. EPSS estimates a 2.7% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 86% of scored CVEs.

What to do

  1. Treat it as urgent: it is on CISA's KEV list. CISA's deadline for US federal agencies: 2024-08-28.
  2. Upgrade Android Kernel to 6.10 or later. Other affected products have their own fixed versions on this page. The patch notes are linked below.
  3. Limit who can run code or sign in on the hosts that run it.
  4. Check exposed instances for signs of compromise, not only for the version.

Description from NVD

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

net: fix __dst_negative_advice() race

__dst_negative_advice() does not enforce proper RCU rules when sk->dst_cache must be cleared, leading to possible UAF.

RCU rules are that we must first clear sk->sk_dst_cache, then call dst_release(old_dst).

Note that sk_dst_reset(sk) is implementing this protocol correctly, while __dst_negative_advice() uses the wrong order.

Given that ip6_negative_advice() has special logic against RTF_CACHE, this means each of the three ->negative_advice() existing methods must perform the sk_dst_reset() themselves.

Note the check against NULL dst is centralized in __dst_negative_advice(), there is no need to duplicate it in various callbacks.

Many thanks to Clement Lecigne for tracking this issue.

This old bug became visible after the blamed commit, using UDP sockets.

What this means for your architecture.

A CVE names a product. Whether it matters depends on where that product sits in your systems: what reaches it, which trust boundary it guards and what it can reach once compromised. Veriom maps your components, their relationships and your trust boundaries from your code, cloud and delivery evidence, so you can see where a component like this sits. The radar itself does not look at your systems.

Components it touches

  • Operating systems on servers, workstations or devices. Everything on the host inherits the flaw.
  • Native code: operating systems, browsers and firmware. The flaw sits wherever native code reads untrusted data.
  • Network appliances and media or file parsers. The flaw sits wherever native code reads untrusted data.

Trust boundaries in play

  • Host boundary. The attacker needs a foothold on the machine first; the flaw turns a small foothold into a bigger one.
  • Wherever native code reads untrusted data. An attacker who crosses it can crash the process, read memory, or in the worst case run code.

Questions to answer about your own systems

  • Where does Android Kernel run in your systems, and at which version?
  • Which of those hosts also run code or users you do not fully trust?
  • What can it reach once compromised: which data stores, secrets and services?
See how Veriom maps an architectureTake the interactive tour

Read more

Sources

  • CVE records and CVSS scores from the NVD CVE API. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
  • Exploitation status from CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
  • Exploit likelihood from FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), refreshed daily.
  • Explanations are written by Veriom from fixed templates over each record’s data, not by a person reviewing each CVE. Descriptions are quoted from the records as published.