{
  "schema_version": "1.6.1",
  "id": "RPI-CVE-2024-40910",
  "modified": "2026-10-09T11:39:44Z",
  "upstream": [
    "CVE-2024-40910"
  ],
  "published": "2024-07-12T12:21:19Z",
  "summary": "ax25: Fix refcount imbalance on inbound connections",
  "details": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nax25: Fix refcount imbalance on inbound connections\n\nWhen releasing a socket in ax25_release(), we call netdev_put() to\ndecrease the refcount on the associated ax.25 device. However, the\nexecution path for accepting an incoming connection never calls\nnetdev_hold(). This imbalance leads to refcount errors, and ultimately\nto kernel crashes.\n\nA typical call trace for the above situation will start with one of the\nfollowing errors:\n\n    refcount_t: decrement hit 0; leaking memory.\n    refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free.\n\nAnd will then have a trace like:\n\n    Call Trace:\n    <TASK>\n    ? show_regs+0x64/0x70\n    ? __warn+0x83/0x120\n    ? refcount_warn_saturate+0xb2/0x100\n    ? report_bug+0x158/0x190\n    ? prb_read_valid+0x20/0x30\n    ? handle_bug+0x3e/0x70\n    ? exc_invalid_op+0x1c/0x70\n    ? asm_exc_invalid_op+0x1f/0x30\n    ? refcount_warn_saturate+0xb2/0x100\n    ? refcount_warn_saturate+0xb2/0x100\n    ax25_release+0x2ad/0x360\n    __sock_release+0x35/0xa0\n    sock_close+0x19/0x20\n    [...]\n\nOn reboot (or any attempt to remove the interface), the kernel gets\nstuck in an infinite loop:\n\n    unregister_netdevice: waiting for ax0 to become free. Usage count = 0\n\nThis patch corrects these issues by ensuring that we call netdev_hold()\nand ax25_dev_hold() for new connections in ax25_accept(). This makes the\nlogic leading to ax25_accept() match the logic for ax25_bind(): in both\ncases we increment the refcount, which is ultimately decremented in\nax25_release().",
  "severity": [
    {
      "type": "CVSS_V3",
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
    }
  ],
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  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-40910"
    },
    {
      "type": "FIX",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f4df9d6c8d4e4c818252b0419c2165d66eabd4eb"
    },
    {
      "type": "FIX",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/52100fd74ad07b53a4666feafff1cd11436362d3"
    },
    {
      "type": "FIX",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a723a6c8d4831cc8e2c7b0c9f3f0c010d4671964"
    },
    {
      "type": "FIX",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3c34fb0bd4a4237592c5ecb5b2e2531900c55774"
    }
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "source": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git",
    "upstream_modified": "2026-08-05T11:52:36Z",
    "severity": {
      "source": "kernel CNA",
      "cvss_v3_score": 8.8,
      "cvss_v3_severity": "High",
      "scenario": "AV:A - The imbalance is created by an inbound SABM processed in `ax25_rcv()`, reached from the link-layer handlers `ax25_kiss_rcv()` (RF/KISS TNC, 6pack, scc) and `bpq_rcv()` (AX.25 encapsulated in Ethernet, ethertype 0x08FF), so any station on the shared radio channel or the local Ethernet segment can trigger it. AX.25 frames are not IP-routable by the kernel itself, so this is adjacent rather than full network reach.\nAC:L - The attacker simply connects and disconnects repeatedly; each accepted-then-closed session deterministically drops one unheld netdev reference and one unheld ax25_dev reference, and only a couple of iterations are needed to drive `ax25_dev->refcount` to zero. No race, no memory-layout precondition, and the attacker controls the repetition count.\nPR:N - AX.25 has no authentication whatsoever \u2014 an unauthenticated remote station only needs to send a SABM to a listening callsign on a node/BBS/ax25d service. No credentials or local account on the victim are required.\nUI:N - A listening AX.25 service accepts inbound connections automatically and closes the session socket when the peer disconnects, which is exactly the release path that performs the unbalanced `netdev_put()`/`ax25_dev_put()`. No operator action is needed.\nS:U - The corruption is confined to kernel memory within the same security authority; no VM, IOMMU, or sandbox boundary is crossed.\nC:H - `ax25_dev_put()` frees the `ax25_dev` while `dev->ax25_ptr` and `ax25_dev_list` still reference it, so subsequent received frames read attacker-refillable freed slab memory (`values[]`, `forward`, `sysheader`), and the netdev refcount underflow can free `struct net_device` while sockets still point at it \u2014 a use-after-free that is leverageable for kernel memory disclosure.\nI:H - The freed `ax25_dev` embeds a `timer_list` (DAMA slave timer with a function pointer) and a `list_head` that are still armed/linked, plus a `net_device *forward` used on the transmit path; reclaiming the slab yields write and control-flow-hijack primitives typical of a use-after-free.\nA:H - The commit documents kernel crashes from the refcount underflow, and on interface teardown or reboot the kernel spins forever in `unregister_netdevice: waiting for ax0 to become free. Usage count = 0` with RTNL held \u2014 a permanent, remotely inducible hang in addition to the UAF oops."
    }
  }
}