Security Resilience

CVE-2024-1086

Memory Safety in Linux Kernel 3.15 – 5.15.149

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCRansomware-linkedMemory Safety
Published
31 January 2024
Modified
07 August 2026
KEV Added
30 May 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.28 98th percentile
Risk Priority 83 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2024-1086 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique OS Credential Dumping (T1003); ranked in the top 2% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-8 (Security and Privacy Engineering Principles) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's netfilter nf_tables component stems from nft_verdict_init() permitting positive values as drop errors within hook verdicts. This condition triggers a double free in nf_hook_slow() when NF_DROP is issued with an error that resembles NF_ACCEPT, affecting unpatched kernel versions and enabling local privilege escalation.

Local attackers with existing low-privileged access on a system can leverage the flaw to corrupt kernel memory and obtain full root privileges, resulting in complete control over confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the host.

Mitigation guidance centers on upgrading past commit f342de4e2f33e0e39165d8639387aa6c19dff660. Multiple technical analyses of the issue and potential exploitation approaches have been shared in public security mailing lists.

The EPSS score sits at a current value of 0.8455 near its recorded peak of 0.8675.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's netfilter: nf_tables component can be exploited to achieve local privilege escalation. The nft_verdict_init() function allows positive values as drop error within the hook verdict, and hence the nf_hook_slow() function can cause a double…

more

free vulnerability when NF_DROP is issued with a drop error which resembles NF_ACCEPT. We recommend upgrading past commit f342de4e2f33e0e39165d8639387aa6c19dff660.

CWE(s)
CWE-416
KEV Date Added
30 May 2024

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1003 OS Credential Dumping Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to dump credentials to obtain account login and credential material, normally in the form of a hash or a clear text password.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.001 LSASS Memory Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credential material stored in the process memory of the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS).
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.004 LSA Secrets Credential Access
Adversaries with SYSTEM access to a host may attempt to access Local Security Authority (LSA) secrets, which can contain a variety of different credential materials, such as credentials for service accounts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1007 System Service Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may try to gather information about registered local system services.
attack.mitre.org →
T1008 Fallback Channels Command And Control
Adversaries may use fallback or alternate communication channels if the primary channel is compromised or inaccessible in order to maintain reliable command and control and to avoid data transfer thresholds.
attack.mitre.org →
T1011 Exfiltration Over Other Network Medium Exfiltration
Adversaries may attempt to exfiltrate data over a different network medium than the command and control channel.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-4004Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2019-0211Same product: Debian Debian Linuxboth on KEV
CVE-2023-3111Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2019-2215Same product: Debian Debian Linuxboth on KEV
CVE-2023-1989Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-4813Same product: Fedoraproject Fedora
CVE-2023-33250Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-3390Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-1838Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-3141Same product: Debian Debian Linux

Affected Assets

netapp
h300s firmware
all versions
netapp
h500s firmware
all versions
netapp
h700s firmware
all versions
netapp
h410s firmware
all versions
netapp
h410c firmware
all versions
netapp
bootstrap os
all versions
linux
linux kernel
6.8 · 3.15 — 5.15.149 · 6.1 — 6.1.76 · 6.2 — 6.6.15
fedoraproject
fedora
39
redhat
enterprise linux desktop
7.0
redhat
enterprise linux for ibm z systems
7.0_s390x
+8 more product configuration(s) — see NVD for full list

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 3 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.4.3

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

Developer testing and evaluation can discover use-after-free bugs through dynamic analysis or fuzzing.

SA-8 Security and Privacy Engineering Principles partial match

Engineering principles can require memory-safe constructs or languages that structurally avoid introducing use-after-free.

SC-39 Process Isolation partial match

Process isolation confines the blast radius of use-after-free memory corruption to a single execution domain.

SI-16 Memory Protection partial match

Memory protection controls limit exploitation impact by blocking unauthorized code execution from dangling pointers.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

ID.RA-01 partial match
blocks

Vulnerability identification processes can discover use-after-free issues via scanning or analysis but do not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
blocks

Routine patching removes known use-after-free instances after they have been introduced in released software.

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

Secure SDLC practices directly incorporate memory-safety tooling and reviews that prevent most use-after-free defects.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.5.30 ICT readiness for business continuity partial match
removes

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (higher-evidence rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248592 OL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. blocks CWE-416
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-230279 RHEL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. blocks CWE-416
RHEL 9 (1 rule)
  • V-257794 RHEL 9 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. blocks CWE-416

References