CVE-2024-44946

Local privilege escalation via concurrent KCM sends

Published Aug 31, 2024 · Updated Aug 5, 2026

Use-after-free in the Linux KCM subsystem allows local users to corrupt kernel memory through concurrent sends on one socket. Two threads can reuse kcm->seq_skb concurrently, letting one queue the skb before the other frees it and kcm_release frees it again. Unprivileged local access and an AF_KCM socket are sufficient to control the race, which can crash the system or enable kernel-memory reads and writes.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.86%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Use-after-free in the Linux KCM subsystem allows local users to corrupt kernel memory through concurrent sends on one socket. Two threads can reuse kcm->seq_skb concurrently, letting one queue the skb before the other frees it and kcm_release frees it again. Unprivileged local access and an AF_KCM socket are sufficient to control the race, which can crash the system or enable kernel-memory reads and writes.

The record

CVE
CVE-2024-44946
Published
Aug 31, 2024
Updated
Aug 5, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-416, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 31, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=4.6
  2. Affected versionversion=ab7ac4eb9832e32a09f4e8042705484d2fb0aad3 <00425508f30baa5ab6449a1f478480ca7cffa6da
  3. Affected versionversion=ab7ac4eb9832e32a09f4e8042705484d2fb0aad3 <6633b17840bf828921254d788ccd15602843fe9b
  4. Affected versionversion=ab7ac4eb9832e32a09f4e8042705484d2fb0aad3 <72da240aafb142630cf16adc803ccdacb3780849
  5. Affected versionversion=ab7ac4eb9832e32a09f4e8042705484d2fb0aad3 <807067bf014d4a3ae2cc55bd3de16f22a01eb580
  6. Affected versionversion=ab7ac4eb9832e32a09f4e8042705484d2fb0aad3 <8c9cdbf600143bd6835c8b8351e5ac956da79aec
  7. Affected versionversion=ab7ac4eb9832e32a09f4e8042705484d2fb0aad3 <9c8d544ed619f704e2b70e63e08ab75630c2ea23
  8. Affected versionversion=ab7ac4eb9832e32a09f4e8042705484d2fb0aad3 <eb06c8d3022ce6738711191c89f9b3e9cfb91914
  9. Affected versionversion=ab7ac4eb9832e32a09f4e8042705484d2fb0aad3 <fa6c23fe6dcac8c8bd63920ee8681292a2bd544e

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=4.6; version=ab7ac4eb9832e32a09f4e8042705484d2fb0aad3 <00425508f30baa5ab6449a1f478480ca7cffa6da; version=ab7ac4eb9832e32a09f4e8042705484d2fb0aad3 <6633b17840bf828921254d788ccd15602843fe9b; version=ab7ac4eb9832e32a09f4e8042705484d2fb0aad3 <72da240aafb142630cf16adc803ccdacb3780849; version=ab7ac4eb9832e32a09f4e8042705484d2fb0aad3 <807067bf014d4a3ae2cc55bd3de16f22a01eb580; version=ab7ac4eb9832e32a09f4e8042705484d2fb0aad3 <8c9cdbf600143bd6835c8b8351e5ac956da79aec; version=ab7ac4eb9832e32a09f4e8042705484d2fb0aad3 <9c8d544ed619f704e2b70e63e08ab75630c2ea23; version=ab7ac4eb9832e32a09f4e8042705484d2fb0aad3 <eb06c8d3022ce6738711191c89f9b3e9cfb91914; version=ab7ac4eb9832e32a09f4e8042705484d2fb0aad3 <fa6c23fe6dcac8c8bd63920ee8681292a2bd544e

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-416Use After Free
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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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