System hang via mutually cancelling BPF timers
Published Aug 7, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026
Improper locking in affected Linux kernel releases allows local users to hang the system via mutually cancelling BPF timer callbacks. Parallel callbacks can each call bpf_timer_cancel on the other's timer, causing both synchronous cancellations to wait indefinitely for the other callback. Reaching the flaw requires permission to execute BPF timer callbacks and the parallel cancellation schedule; the documented consequence is a kernel lockup.
Summary
What happened
Improper locking in affected Linux kernel releases allows local users to hang the system via mutually cancelling BPF timer callbacks. Parallel callbacks can each call bpf_timer_cancel on the other's timer, causing both synchronous cancellations to wait indefinitely for the other callback. Reaching the flaw requires permission to execute BPF timer callbacks and the parallel cancellation schedule; the documented consequence is a kernel lockup.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-42239
- Published
- Aug 7, 2024
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-667, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 7, 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
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=5.15
- Affected versionversion=b00628b1c7d595ae5b544e059c27b1f5828314b4 <3e4e8178a8666c56813bd167b848fca0f4c9af0a
- Affected versionversion=b00628b1c7d595ae5b544e059c27b1f5828314b4 <9369830518688ecd5b08ffc08ab3302ce2b5d0f7
- Affected versionversion=b00628b1c7d595ae5b544e059c27b1f5828314b4 <d4523831f07a267a943f0dde844bf8ead7495f13
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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Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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