CVE-2024-49888
Description
A flaw was found in the kernel's Berkeley Packet Filter (BPF) subsystem. A privileged local user can trigger a signed division or modulo overflow when executing a BPF program on an x86_64 system. This overflow can lead to a kernel exception and subsequently cause a system crash, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS).
Statement
The default Red Hat Enterprise Linux kernel prevents unprivileged users from being able to use eBPF by the kernel.unprivileged_bpf_disabled sysctl. This would require a privileged user with CAP_SYS_ADMIN or root to be able to abuse this flaw reducing its attack space.
For the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 to confirm the current state, inspect the sysctl with the command:
cat /proc/sys/kernel/unprivileged_bpf_disabled
The setting of 1 would mean that unprivileged users can not use eBPF, mitigating the flaw.
Mitigation
To mitigate this issue, ensure that unprivileged users are prevented from loading eBPF programs by setting the `kernel.unprivileged_bpf_disabled` sysctl to 1. This is the default configuration on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
To verify the current setting:
`cat /proc/sys/kernel/unprivileged_bpf_disabled`
If the value is 0, set it to 1 immediately using:
`sudo sysctl -w kernel.unprivileged_bpf_disabled=1`
To make this change persistent across reboots, add or modify the following line in `/etc/sysctl.d/99-sysctl.conf` (or a similar sysctl configuration file):
`kernel.unprivileged_bpf_disabled = 1`
Then, apply the changes:
`sudo sysctl --system`
Note that changes to sysctl parameters take effect immediately but may require a system reboot for full application in some scenarios, especially if the vulnerable kernel module was already loaded with the previous setting.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 4.4 | 5.5 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | N/A |
| Privileges Required | High | Low | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | None | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | N/A |
| Confidentiality | None | None | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | None | None | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | High | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart; DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory); DoS: Instability
This weakness can generally lead to undefined behavior and therefore crashes. When the calculated result is used for resource allocation, this weakness can cause too many (or too few) resources to be allocated, possibly enabling crashes if the product requests more resources than can be provided.
Integrity
Technical Impact: Modify Memory
If the value in question is important to data (as opposed to flow), simple data corruption has occurred. Also, if the overflow/wraparound results in other conditions such as buffer overflows, further memory corruption may occur.
Confidentiality,Availability,Access Control
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Bypass Protection Mechanism
This weakness can sometimes trigger buffer overflows, which can be used to execute arbitrary code. This is usually outside the scope of the product's implicit security policy.
Availability,Other
Technical Impact: Alter Execution Logic; DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart; DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU)
If the overflow/wraparound occurs in a loop index variable, this could cause the loop to terminate at the wrong time - too early, too late, or not at all (i.e., infinite loops). With too many iterations, some loops could consume too many resources such as memory, file handles, etc., possibly leading to a crash or other DoS.
Access Control
Technical Impact: Bypass Protection Mechanism
If integer values are used in security-critical decisions, such as calculating quotas or allocation limits, integer overflows can be used to cause an incorrect security decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
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