Kernel availability loss via redundant VLAN-group dereference
Published Jul 12, 2024 · Updated May 23, 2026
Improper pointer handling in affected Linux kernel versions allows local users to interrupt kernel availability through bridge MST state changes. In net/bridge/br_mst.c, br_mst_vlan_set_state() reacquires and dereferences a VLAN-group pointer even though its callers already hold the correctly dereferenced group in their RCU context. Low-privileged local access and a bridge using Multiple Spanning Tree state are required, and the documented impact is limited to availability.
Summary
What happened
Improper pointer handling in affected Linux kernel versions allows local users to interrupt kernel availability through bridge MST state changes. In net/bridge/br_mst.c, br_mst_vlan_set_state() reacquires and dereferences a VLAN-group pointer even though its callers already hold the correctly dereferenced group in their RCU context. Low-privileged local access and a bridge using Multiple Spanning Tree state are required, and the documented impact is limited to availability.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-40921
- Published
- Jul 12, 2024
- Updated
- May 23, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 12, 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
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=3a7c1661ae1383364cd6092d851f5e5da64d476b <36c92936e868601fa1f43da6758cf55805043509
- Affected versionversion=4488617e5e995a09abe4d81add5fb165674edb59 <a6cc9e9a651b9861efa068c164ee62dfba68c6ca
- Affected versionversion=6.1.93 <6.1.95
- Affected versionversion=6.6.33 <6.6.35
- Affected versionversion=6.8.12 <6.9
- Affected versionversion=6.9.3 <6.9.6
- Affected versionversion=8ca9a750fc711911ef616ceb627d07357b04545e <09f4337c27f5bdeb8646a6db91488cc2f7d537ff
- Affected versionversion=a2b01e65d9ba8af2bb086d3b7288ca53a07249ac
- Affected versionversion=e43dd2b1ec746e105b7db5f9ad6ef14685a615a4 <d2dc02775fc0c4eacaee833a0637e5958884a8e5
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo