Kernel freeze via unhandled BPF connection denial
Published Aug 7, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026
Infinite loop in SUNRPC TCP setup in affected Linux kernel releases allows local users to freeze the kernel through a BPF-denied connection. xs_tcp_setup_socket repeatedly retries when kernel_connect returns EPERM instead of remapping that unexpected result to a conventional network error. Exploitation requires local access and a BPF program attached to kernel_connect; the loop floods syslog and can leave the host unresponsive.
Summary
What happened
Infinite loop in SUNRPC TCP setup in affected Linux kernel releases allows local users to freeze the kernel through a BPF-denied connection. xs_tcp_setup_socket repeatedly retries when kernel_connect returns EPERM instead of remapping that unexpected result to a conventional network error. Exploitation requires local access and a BPF program attached to kernel_connect; the loop floods syslog and can leave the host unresponsive.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-42246
- Published
- Aug 7, 2024
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-835, T1499.004
- 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=4.17
- Affected versionversion=4fbac77d2d092b475dda9eea66da674369665427 <02ee1976edb21a96ce8e3fd4ef563f14cc16d041
- Affected versionversion=4fbac77d2d092b475dda9eea66da674369665427 <5d8254e012996cee1a0f9cc920531cb7e4d9a011
- Affected versionversion=4fbac77d2d092b475dda9eea66da674369665427 <626dfed5fa3bfb41e0dffd796032b555b69f9cde
- Affected versionversion=4fbac77d2d092b475dda9eea66da674369665427 <934247ea65bc5eca8bdb7f8c0ddc15cef992a5d6
- Affected versionversion=4fbac77d2d092b475dda9eea66da674369665427 <bc790261218952635f846aaf90bcc0974f6f62c6
- Affected versionversion=4fbac77d2d092b475dda9eea66da674369665427 <d6c686c01c5f12ff8f7264e0ddf71df6cb0d4414
- Affected versionversion=4fbac77d2d092b475dda9eea66da674369665427 <f2431e7db0fe0daccb2f06bb0d23740affcd2fa6
- Affected versionversion=4fbac77d2d092b475dda9eea66da674369665427 <f388cfd913a2b96c05339a335f365795db1b36b6
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.
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
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Your stack
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