CVE-2024-36963: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tracefs: Reset permissions on remount if permissions are options There's an inco...

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tracefs: Reset permissions on remount if permissions are options There's an inconsistency with the way permissions are handled in tracefs. Because the permissions are generated when accessed, they default to the root inode's permission if they were never set by the user. If the user sets the permissions, then a flag is set and the permissions are saved via the inode (for tracefs files) or an internal attribute field (for eventfs). But if a remount happens that specify the permissions, all the files that were not changed by the user gets updated, but the ones that were are not. If the user were to remount the file system with a given permission, then all files and directories within that file system should be updated. This can cause security issues if a file's permission was updated but the admin forgot about it. They could incorrectly think that remounting with permissions set would update all files, but miss some. For example: # cd /sys/kernel/tracing # chgrp 1002 current_tracer # ls -l [..] -rw-r----- 1 root root 0 May 1 21:25 buffer_size_kb -rw-r----- 1 root root 0 May 1 21:25 buffer_subbuf_size_kb -r--r----- 1 root root 0 May 1 21:25 buffer_total_size_kb -rw-r----- 1 root lkp 0 May 1 21:25 current_tracer -rw-r----- 1 root root 0 May 1 21:25 dynamic_events -r--r----- 1 root root 0 May 1 21:25 dyn_ftrace_total_info -r--r----- 1 root root 0 May 1 21:25 enabled_functions Where current_tracer now has group "lkp". # mount -o remount,gid=1001 . # ls -l -rw-r----- 1 root tracing 0 May 1 21:25 buffer_size_kb -rw-r----- 1 root tracing 0 May 1 21:25 buffer_subbuf_size_kb -r--r----- 1 root tracing 0 May 1 21:25 buffer_total_size_kb -rw-r----- 1 root lkp 0 May 1 21:25 current_tracer -rw-r----- 1 root tracing 0 May 1 21:25 dynamic_events -r--r----- 1 root tracing 0 May 1 21:25 dyn_ftrace_total_info -r--r----- 1 root tracing 0 May 1 21:25 enabled_functions Everything changed but the "current_tracer". Add a new link list that keeps track of all the tracefs_inodes which has the permission flags that tell if the file/dir should use the root inode's permission or not. Then on remount, clear all the flags so that the default behavior of using the root inode's permission is done for all files and directories.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

7.8/10

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

EPSS Probability

0.19%

8.8th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-863

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions	Update
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 6.6.18, < 6.6.31	—
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 6.7.4, < 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-2024-36963?

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tracefs: Reset permissions on remount if permissions are options There's an inconsistency with the way permissions are handled in tracefs. Because the permissions are generated when accessed, they default to the root inode's permission if they were never set by the user. If the user sets the permissions, then a flag is set and the permissions are saved via the inode (for tracefs files) or an internal attribute field (for eventfs). But if a remount happens that specify the permissions, all the files that were not changed by the user gets updated, but the ones that were are not. If the user were to remount the file system with a given permission, then all files and directories within that file system should be updated. This can cause security issues if a file's permission was updated but the admin forgot about it. They could incorrectly think that remounting with permissions set would update all files, but miss some. For example: # cd /sys/kernel/tracing # chgrp 1002 current_tracer # ls -l [..] -rw-r----- 1 root root 0 May 1 21:25 buffer_size_kb -rw-r----- 1 root root 0 May 1 21:25 buffer_subbuf_size_kb -r--r----- 1 root root 0 May 1 21:25 buffer_total_size_kb -rw-r----- 1 root lkp 0 May 1 21:25 current_tracer -rw-r----- 1 root root 0 May 1 21:25 dynamic_events -r--r----- 1 root root 0 May 1 21:25 dyn_ftrace_total_info -r--r----- 1 root root 0 May 1 21:25 enabled_functions Where current_tracer now has group "lkp". # mount -o remount,gid=1001 . # ls -l -rw-r----- 1 root tracing 0 May 1 21:25 buffer_size_kb -rw-r----- 1 root tracing 0 May 1 21:25 buffer_subbuf_size_kb -r--r----- 1 root tracing 0 May 1 21:25 buffer_total_size_kb -rw-r----- 1 root lkp 0 May 1 21:25 current_tracer -rw-r----- 1 root tracing 0 May 1 21:25 dynamic_events -r--r----- 1 root tracing 0 May 1 21:25 dyn_ftrace_total_info -r--r----- 1 root tracing 0 May 1 21:25 enabled_functions Everything changed but the "current_tracer". Add a new link list that keeps track of all the tracefs_inodes which has the permission flags that tell if the file/dir should use the root inode's permission or not. Then on remount, clear all the flags so that the default behavior of using the root inode's permission is done for all files and directories.

How severe is CVE-2024-36963?

CVE-2024-36963 has a CVSS score of 7.8/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.19% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2024-36963?

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.