Local system hang via timerlat lock inversion
Published Oct 21, 2024 · Updated May 23, 2026
Improper locking in Linux kernel timerlat CPU-hotplug handling allows local users to hang the system during CPU offlining. stop_kthread() acquires interface_lock while the hotplug path holds the CPU write lock, while osnoise_hotplug_workfn() takes the same locks in reverse order, creating an ABBA deadlock. Exploitation requires low-privileged local access and concurrent timerlat and CPU-hotplug activity; the documented consequence is an availability-only system hang.
Summary
What happened
Improper locking in Linux kernel timerlat CPU-hotplug handling allows local users to hang the system during CPU offlining. stop_kthread() acquires interface_lock while the hotplug path holds the CPU write lock, while osnoise_hotplug_workfn() takes the same locks in reverse order, creating an ABBA deadlock. Exploitation requires low-privileged local access and concurrent timerlat and CPU-hotplug activity; the documented consequence is an availability-only system hang.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-49976
- Published
- Oct 21, 2024
- Updated
- May 23, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-667, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 21, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 23, 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=4679272d5252720746fd9c5465352cbc5665f230 <09cb44cc3d3df7ade2cebc939d6257a2fa8afc7a
- Affected versionversion=5bfbcd1ee57b607fd29e4645c7f350dd385dd9ad <b484a02c9cedf8703eff8f0756f94618004bd165
- Affected versionversion=5bfbcd1ee57b607fd29e4645c7f350dd385dd9ad <db8571a9a098086608c11a15856ff585789e67e8
- Affected versionversion=6.10.10 <6.10.14
- Affected versionversion=6.11
- Affected versionversion=6.6.51 <6.6.55
- Affected versionversion=b4fdabffae14cca2c80d99bd81f3f27239ac7f5e <a4a05ceffe8fad68b45de38fe2311bda619e76e2
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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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