Kernel memory leak via failed SCLP halt
Published Sep 4, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026
Memory leak in Linux kernel releases starting with 4.17 allows local users to consume kernel memory by interrupting an s390 SCLP Store Data operation. The sclp_sd_store_data error path frees referenced buffers without checking whether sclp_sd_sync successfully halted the interrupted request. The condition requires a rare hardware or firmware halt failure, after which a delayed SCLP write can target released memory and a few pages remain allocated.
Summary
What happened
Memory leak in Linux kernel releases starting with 4.17 allows local users to consume kernel memory by interrupting an s390 SCLP Store Data operation. The sclp_sd_store_data error path frees referenced buffers without checking whether sclp_sd_sync successfully halted the interrupted request. The condition requires a rare hardware or firmware halt failure, after which a delayed SCLP write can target released memory and a few pages remain allocated.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-44969
- Published
- Sep 4, 2024
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-401
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 4, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=4.17
- Affected versionversion=66aec647216f129b8560dba738303a8486481c53 <1e8b7fb427af6b2ddd54eff66a6b428a81c96633
- Affected versionversion=66aec647216f129b8560dba738303a8486481c53 <1ec5ea9e25f582fd6999393e2f2c3bf56f234e05
- Affected versionversion=66aec647216f129b8560dba738303a8486481c53 <2429ea3b4330e3653b72b210a0d5f2a717359506
- Affected versionversion=66aec647216f129b8560dba738303a8486481c53 <46f67233b011385d53cf14d272431755de3a7c79
- Affected versionversion=66aec647216f129b8560dba738303a8486481c53 <7a7e60ed23d471a07dbbe72565d2992ee8244bbe
- Affected versionversion=66aec647216f129b8560dba738303a8486481c53 <a3e52a4c22c846858a6875e1c280030a3849e148
- Affected versionversion=66aec647216f129b8560dba738303a8486481c53 <a88a49473c94ccfd8dce1e766aacf3c627278463
- Affected versionversion=66aec647216f129b8560dba738303a8486481c53 <bf365071ea92b9579d5a272679b74052a5643e35
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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