Kernel crash via unreleased Xen probe resources
Published Dec 27, 2024 · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Resource-management failure in affected Linux kernel branches beginning with 2.6.23 allows local users to crash the kernel. When drv->probe() returns an error after allocating resources, xenbus_dev_probe() returns without calling drv->remove(), leaking resources and leaving a Xenstore watch tied to a freed device. The path is limited to Xen systems and requires local low-privileged influence over Xenstore, memory pressure, device hotplug, or driver rebinding; repeated failures can exhaust kernel resources or trigger an oops or panic.
Summary
What happened
Resource-management failure in affected Linux kernel branches beginning with 2.6.23 allows local users to crash the kernel. When drv->probe() returns an error after allocating resources, xenbus_dev_probe() returns without calling drv->remove(), leaking resources and leaving a Xenstore watch tied to a freed device. The path is limited to Xen systems and requires local low-privileged influence over Xenstore, memory pressure, device hotplug, or driver rebinding; repeated failures can exhaust kernel resources or trigger an oops or panic.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-53198
- Published
- Dec 27, 2024
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-401, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Dec 27, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- 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.
- Affected versionversion=2.6.23
- Affected versionversion=4bac07c993d03434ea902d3d4290d9e45944b66c <0aa9e30b5b4af5dd504801689d6d84c584290a45
- Affected versionversion=4bac07c993d03434ea902d3d4290d9e45944b66c <217bdce88b104269b73603b84d0ab4dd04f481bc
- Affected versionversion=4bac07c993d03434ea902d3d4290d9e45944b66c <2f977a4c82d35d063f5fe198bbc501c4b1c5ea0e
- Affected versionversion=4bac07c993d03434ea902d3d4290d9e45944b66c <3fc0996d2fefe61219375fd650601724b8cf2d30
- Affected versionversion=4bac07c993d03434ea902d3d4290d9e45944b66c <804b96f8d0a02fa10b92f28b2e042f9128ed3ffc
- Affected versionversion=4bac07c993d03434ea902d3d4290d9e45944b66c <87106169b4ce26f85561f953d13d1fd86d99b612
- Affected versionversion=4bac07c993d03434ea902d3d4290d9e45944b66c <afc545da381ba0c651b2658966ac737032676f01
- Affected versionversion=4bac07c993d03434ea902d3d4290d9e45944b66c <e8823e6ff313465910edea07581627d85e68d9fd
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
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Weakness, pattern, technique
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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