Local kernel crash via uninitialized NFSD mutex
Published Jul 29, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026
Improper initialization in Linux 6.8 allows local users to crash the kernel by accessing NFSD pool statistics after creating a netns. svc_pool_stats_start() can dereference nfsd_info.mutex before the new network namespace initializes that mutex. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and is bounded to a kernel oops and resulting service interruption, with no reported data access or code execution.
Summary
What happened
Improper initialization in Linux 6.8 allows local users to crash the kernel by accessing NFSD pool statistics after creating a netns. svc_pool_stats_start() can dereference nfsd_info.mutex before the new network namespace initializes that mutex. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and is bounded to a kernel oops and resulting service interruption, with no reported data access or code execution.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-42078
- Published
- Jul 29, 2024
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-665, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 29, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 11, 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=6.8
- Affected versionversion=7b207ccd983350a5dedd132b57c666186dd02a7c <7e8b94045bc77ce4f085ddfb9eb04e5760e66169
- Affected versionversion=7b207ccd983350a5dedd132b57c666186dd02a7c <e0011bca603c101f2a3c007bdb77f7006fa78fb1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
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.
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