Security assessments indicate that CVE-2024-57952 presents a notable risk, potentially requiring prompt mitigation.
Status: Analyzed
Last updated: 🕞 14 Feb 2025, 15:52 UTC
Originally published on: 🕑 12 Feb 2025, 14:15 UTC
Time between publication and last update: 2 days
CVSS Release: version 3
nvd@nist.gov
Primary
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVE-2024-57952: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Revert "libfs: fix infinite directory reads for offset dir" The current directory offset allocator (based on mtree_alloc_cyclic) stores the next offset value to return in octx->next_offset. This mechanism typically returns values that increase monotonically over time. Eventually, though, the newly allocated offset value wraps back to a low number (say, 2) which is smaller than other already- allocated offset values. Yu Kuai <yukuai3@huawei.com> reports that, after commit 64a7ce76fb90 ("libfs: fix infinite directory reads for offset dir"), if a directory's offset allocator wraps, existing entries are no longer visible via readdir/getdents because offset_readdir() stops listing entries once an entry's offset is larger than octx->next_offset. These entries vanish persistently -- they can be looked up, but will never again appear in readdir(3) output. The reason for this is that the commit treats directory offsets as monotonically increasing integer values rather than opaque cookies, and introduces this comparison: if (dentry2offset(dentry) >= last_index) { On 64-bit platforms, the directory offset value upper bound is 2^63 - 1. Directory offsets will monotonically increase for millions of years without wrapping. On 32-bit platforms, however, LONG_MAX is 2^31 - 1. The allocator can wrap after only a few weeks (at worst). Revert commit 64a7ce76fb90 ("libfs: fix infinite directory reads for offset dir") to prepare for a fix that can work properly on 32-bit systems and might apply to recent LTS kernels where shmem employs the simple_offset mechanism.
The exploitability of CVE-2024-57952 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).
CVE-2024-57952 presents an accessible attack vector with minimal effort required. Restricting access controls and implementing security updates are critical to reducing exploitation risks.
A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.
Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.
Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.
Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2024-57952, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.
Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2024-57952, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.
The EPSS score estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the near future.
EPSS Score: 0.042% (probability of exploit)
EPSS Percentile: 5.07%
(lower percentile = lower relative risk)
This vulnerability is less risky than approximately 94.93% of others.
NVD-CWE-noinfo
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