Kernel crash via missing initial skb reference
Published Dec 27, 2024 · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Memory-safety failure in the Linux kernel J1939 transport allows remote attackers to crash the kernel through crafted session traffic. The j1939_session_new() function queues the initial sk_buff without the skb_get() reference acquired for later buffers, so teardown underflows its reference count. Reachability requires an active CAN J1939 socket and crafted transport-session traffic; public testing demonstrated repeated kernel refcount warnings and crashes.
Summary
What happened
Memory-safety failure in the Linux kernel J1939 transport allows remote attackers to crash the kernel through crafted session traffic. The j1939_session_new() function queues the initial sk_buff without the skb_get() reference acquired for later buffers, so teardown underflows its reference count. Reachability requires an active CAN J1939 socket and crafted transport-session traffic; public testing demonstrated repeated kernel refcount warnings and crashes.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-56645
- Published
- Dec 27, 2024
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
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=5.4
- Affected versionversion=9d71dd0c70099914fcd063135da3c580865e924c <224e606a8d8e8c7db94036272c47a37455667313
- Affected versionversion=9d71dd0c70099914fcd063135da3c580865e924c <4199dd78a59896e091d3a7a05a77451aa7fd724d
- Affected versionversion=9d71dd0c70099914fcd063135da3c580865e924c <426d94815e12b6bdb9a75af294fbbafb9301601d
- Affected versionversion=9d71dd0c70099914fcd063135da3c580865e924c <68fceb143b635cdc59fed3896d5910aff38f345e
- Affected versionversion=9d71dd0c70099914fcd063135da3c580865e924c <a8c695005bfe6569acd73d777ca298ddddd66105
- Affected versionversion=9d71dd0c70099914fcd063135da3c580865e924c <b3282c2bebeeb82ceec492ee4972f51ee7a4a132
- Affected versionversion=9d71dd0c70099914fcd063135da3c580865e924c <f117cba69cbbd496babb3defcdf440df4fd6fe14
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
- syzbot J1939 refcount reproducerproof of concept · demonstrated
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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