Local privilege escalation via stale page-table lock
Published Aug 7, 2024 · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Use-after-free in the Linux kernel 6.9 through 6.9.9 allows local users to gain kernel privileges via a filemap page-fault race. filemap_fault_recheck_pte_none() reuses vmf->ptl after unmapping the page table and dropping the RCU read lock, so concurrent MADV_COLLAPSE activity can replace the protected table and leave the lock pointer stale. An ordinary local account with a nonzero RLIMIT_MEMLOCK can drive both sides of the race, enabling kernel-memory disclosure or writes, control-flow hijacking, crashes, or hangs.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in the Linux kernel 6.9 through 6.9.9 allows local users to gain kernel privileges via a filemap page-fault race. filemap_fault_recheck_pte_none() reuses vmf->ptl after unmapping the page table and dropping the RCU read lock, so concurrent MADV_COLLAPSE activity can replace the protected table and leave the lock pointer stale. An ordinary local account with a nonzero RLIMIT_MEMLOCK can drive both sides of the race, enabling kernel-memory disclosure or writes, control-flow hijacking, crashes, or hangs.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-42233
- Published
- Aug 7, 2024
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 7, 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?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=58f327f2ce80f9c7b4a70e9cf017ae8810d44a20 <24be02a42181f0707be0498045c4c4b13273b16d
- Affected versionversion=58f327f2ce80f9c7b4a70e9cf017ae8810d44a20 <6a6c2aec1a89506595801b4cf7e8eef035f33748
- Affected versionversion=6.9
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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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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