Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-56631

Memory Safety in Linux Kernel 3.16.85 – 6.6.66

Memory Safety
Published
27 December 2024
Modified
14 July 2026
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 0.0029 21th percentile
Risk Priority 56 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-2024-56631 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 Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203); ranked at the 21th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

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.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: scsi: sg: Fix slab-use-after-free read in sg_release() Fix a use-after-free bug in sg_release(), detected by syzbot with KASAN: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in lock_release+0x151/0xa30 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5838 __mutex_unlock_slowpath+0xe2/0x750 kernel/locking/mutex.c:912 sg_release+0x1f4/0x2e0 drivers/scsi/sg.c:407 In sg_release(),…

more

the function kref_put(&sfp->f_ref, sg_remove_sfp) is called before releasing the open_rel_lock mutex. The kref_put() call may decrement the reference count of sfp to zero, triggering its cleanup through sg_remove_sfp(). This cleanup includes scheduling deferred work via sg_remove_sfp_usercontext(), which ultimately frees sfp. After kref_put(), sg_release() continues to unlock open_rel_lock and may reference sfp or sdp. If sfp has already been freed, this results in a slab-use-after-free error. Move the kref_put(&sfp->f_ref, sg_remove_sfp) call after unlocking the open_rel_lock mutex. This ensures: - No references to sfp or sdp occur after the reference count is decremented. - Cleanup functions such as sg_remove_sfp() and sg_remove_sfp_usercontext() can safely execute without impacting the mutex handling in sg_release(). The fix has been tested and validated by syzbot. This patch closes the bug reported at the following syzkaller link and ensures proper sequencing of resource cleanup and mutex operations, eliminating the risk of use-after-free errors in sg_release().

CWE(s)
CWE-416

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-35801Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-53153Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2024-47691Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-3439Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2025-71162Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-53608Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2025-39859Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2024-50027Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2024-44985Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2026-31731Same product: Linux Linux Kernel

Affected Assets

linux
linux kernel
6.13 · 3.16.85 — 6.6.66 · 6.7 — 6.12.5

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.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

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

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

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

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

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

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.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development can detect use-after-free bugs before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC mandates memory-safety practices that reduce use-after-free defects.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify memory-management rules that mitigate use-after-free.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles include memory-safety design choices that limit use-after-free exposure.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly prescribe avoidance of use-after-free patterns.

A.8.32 Change management partial match
prevents

Change-management processes help ensure memory-safety fixes are deployed consistently.

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` (authoritative 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. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-230279 RHEL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 9 (1 rule)
  • V-257794 RHEL 9 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416

References