Kernel warning via stale userfaultfd write protection
Published May 30, 2024 · Updated May 23, 2026
Improper page-table cleanup in affected Linux kernel versions allows local users to trigger a warning via userfaultfd close. When the last userfaultfd reference is closed, the release path fails to clear UFFD write-protect bits from relevant page-table entries as UFFDIO_UNREGISTER does. The gate is local low-privilege access to userfaultfd; the published user-visible consequence is leftover write-protect state and a kernel warning, not data access or code execution.
Summary
What happened
Improper page-table cleanup in affected Linux kernel versions allows local users to trigger a warning via userfaultfd close. When the last userfaultfd reference is closed, the release path fails to clear UFFD write-protect bits from relevant page-table entries as UFFDIO_UNREGISTER does. The gate is local low-privilege access to userfaultfd; the published user-visible consequence is leftover write-protect state and a kernel warning, not data access or code execution.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-36881
- Published
- May 30, 2024
- Updated
- May 23, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 30, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 23, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=3e2747c3ddfa717697c3cc2aa6ab989e48d6587d
- Affected versionversion=5.19.6 <5.20
- Affected versionversion=6.0
- Affected versionversion=f369b07c861435bd812a9d14493f71b34132ed6f <377f3a9a3d032a52325a5b110379a25dd1ab1931
- Affected versionversion=f369b07c861435bd812a9d14493f71b34132ed6f <8d8b68a5b0c9fb23d37df06bb273ead38fd5a29d
- Affected versionversion=f369b07c861435bd812a9d14493f71b34132ed6f <c88033efe9a391e72ba6b5df4b01d6e628f4e734
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Weakness, pattern, technique
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Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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