Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2024-56766 is a high-severity Double Free (CWE-415) vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 12th 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.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2024-56766 is a double free vulnerability (CWE-415) in the Linux kernel's MTD raw NAND subsystem, specifically within the atmel_pmecc_create_user() function. The issue arises because the "user" pointer allocation was changed from kzalloc() to devm_kzalloc(), but the code still calls kfree() on it, resulting in a double free. It affects Linux kernel versions prior to the application of the relevant stable patches and has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).
A local attacker with low privileges can exploit this vulnerability due to its low attack complexity and lack of user interaction requirements. Successful exploitation could lead to high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, potentially allowing arbitrary code execution, data corruption, or system crashes within the kernel context.
Mitigation is provided through upstream kernel patches available in the following stable commit references: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1562871ef613fa9492aa0310933eff785166a90e, https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3d825a241e65f7e3072978729e79d735ec40b80e, https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6ea15205d7e2b811fbbdf79783f686f58abfb4b7, https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ca9818554b0f33e87f38e4bfa2dac056692d46cc, and https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d2f090ea57f8d6587e09d4066f740a8617767b3d. Security practitioners should update affected Linux kernels to incorporate these fixes.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2024-53409
Vulnerability Data
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mtd: rawnand: fix double free in atmel_pmecc_create_user() The "user" pointer was converted from being allocated with kzalloc() to being allocated by devm_kzalloc(). Calling kfree(user) will lead to a double free.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 1 hardening rule · 1 OS baseline
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Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and evaluation explicitly includes dynamic analysis and fuzzing that locate double-free defects before release.
Security engineering principles can require memory-safe allocation patterns or language features that structurally eliminate double-free opportunities.
Flaw remediation processes require identification and correction of memory-management defects such as double free once discovered.
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.
Secure SDLC practices directly prevent double-free errors via static analysis, safe memory APIs, and testing.
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.
Security testing in development can detect double-free conditions before release.
Secure coding standards directly address proper use of free() and similar functions.
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-248590 OL 8 must clear the page allocator to prevent use-after-free attacks. blocks CWE-415