CVE-2024-36961: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: thermal/debugfs: Fix two locking issues with thermal zone debug With the current...

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: thermal/debugfs: Fix two locking issues with thermal zone debug With the current thermal zone locking arrangement in the debugfs code, user space can open the "mitigations" file for a thermal zone before the zone's debugfs pointer is set which will result in a NULL pointer dereference in tze_seq_start(). Moreover, thermal_debug_tz_remove() is not called under the thermal zone lock, so it can run in parallel with the other functions accessing the thermal zone's struct thermal_debugfs object. Then, it may clear tz->debugfs after one of those functions has checked it and the struct thermal_debugfs object may be freed prematurely. To address the first problem, pass a pointer to the thermal zone's struct thermal_debugfs object to debugfs_create_file() in thermal_debug_tz_add() and make tze_seq_start(), tze_seq_next(), tze_seq_stop(), and tze_seq_show() retrieve it from s->private instead of a pointer to the thermal zone object. This will ensure that tz_debugfs will be valid across the "mitigations" file accesses until thermal_debugfs_remove_id() called by thermal_debug_tz_remove() removes that file. To address the second problem, use tz->lock in thermal_debug_tz_remove() around the tz->debugfs value check (in case the same thermal zone is removed at the same time in two different threads) and its reset to NULL. Cc :6.8+ <stable@vger.kernel.org> # 6.8+

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

5.5/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS Probability

0.14%

3.9th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-667

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions	Update
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 6.8, < 6.8.10	—
Linux	Linux Kernel	6.9	Rc1

References

Timeline

Published: Jun 3, 2024
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Analyzed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-36961?

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: thermal/debugfs: Fix two locking issues with thermal zone debug With the current thermal zone locking arrangement in the debugfs code, user space can open the "mitigations" file for a thermal zone before the zone's debugfs pointer is set which will result in a NULL pointer dereference in tze_seq_start(). Moreover, thermal_debug_tz_remove() is not called under the thermal zone lock, so it can run in parallel with the other functions accessing the thermal zone's struct thermal_debugfs object. Then, it may clear tz->debugfs after one of those functions has checked it and the struct thermal_debugfs object may be freed prematurely. To address the first problem, pass a pointer to the thermal zone's struct thermal_debugfs object to debugfs_create_file() in thermal_debug_tz_add() and make tze_seq_start(), tze_seq_next(), tze_seq_stop(), and tze_seq_show() retrieve it from s->private instead of a pointer to the thermal zone object. This will ensure that tz_debugfs will be valid across the "mitigations" file accesses until thermal_debugfs_remove_id() called by thermal_debug_tz_remove() removes that file. To address the second problem, use tz->lock in thermal_debug_tz_remove() around the tz->debugfs value check (in case the same thermal zone is removed at the same time in two different threads) and its reset to NULL. Cc :6.8+ <stable@vger.kernel.org> # 6.8+

How severe is CVE-2024-36961?

CVE-2024-36961 has a CVSS score of 5.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.14% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2024-36961?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.