Local kernel memory corruption via io-wq flag race
Published Jul 12, 2024 · Updated Aug 5, 2026
A race condition in the Linux kernel allows local users to corrupt io-wq worker state through concurrent io_uring operations. io_worker_handle_work and io_wq_activate_free_worker read and modify worker->flags nonatomically on different CPUs, permitting stale free-list state. An unprivileged account with io_uring enabled can repeatedly trigger the race, exposing kernel heap data, creating a write primitive, or hanging requests.
Summary
What happened
A race condition in the Linux kernel allows local users to corrupt io-wq worker state through concurrent io_uring operations. io_worker_handle_work and io_wq_activate_free_worker read and modify worker->flags nonatomically on different CPUs, permitting stale free-list state. An unprivileged account with io_uring enabled can repeatedly trigger the race, exposing kernel heap data, creating a write primitive, or hanging requests.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-39508
- Published
- Jul 12, 2024
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 12, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 5, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=2b188cc1bb857a9d4701ae59aa7768b5124e262e <1cbb0affb15470a9621267fe0a8568007553a4bf
- Affected versionversion=2b188cc1bb857a9d4701ae59aa7768b5124e262e <8a565304927fbd28c9f028c492b5c1714002cbab
- Affected versionversion=2b188cc1bb857a9d4701ae59aa7768b5124e262e <ab702c3483db9046bab9f40306f1a28b22dbbdc0
- Affected versionversion=5.1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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