# CVE-2024-35971: net: ks8851: Handle softirqs at the end of IRQ thread to fix hang

> A race condition in the ks8851 network driver causes a system hang when softirqs are processed while holding a spinlock, leading to denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 20 May 2024
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-67761, BELL-CVE-2024-35971, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-35971, GHSA-59hf-6v72-vm3m, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2024-35971, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2024-35971, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-35971

## What is CVE-2024-35971?

CVE-2024-35971 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 20 May 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net: ks8851: Handle softirqs at the end of IRQ thread to fix hang

The ks8851_irq() thread may call ks8851_rx_pkts() in case there are
any packets in the MAC FIFO, which calls netif_rx(). This netif_rx()
implementation is guarded by local_bh_disable() and local_bh_enable().
The local_bh_enable() may call do_softirq() to run softirqs in case
any are pending. One of the softirqs is net_rx_action, which ultimately
reaches the driver .start_xmit callback. If that happens, the system
hangs. The entire call chain is below:

ks8851_start_xmit_par from netdev_start_xmit
netdev_start_xmit from dev_hard_start_xmit
dev_hard_start_xmit from sch_direct_xmit
sch_direct_xmit from __dev_queue_xmit
__dev_queue_xmit from __neigh_update
__neigh_update from neigh_update
neigh_update from arp_process.constprop.0
arp_process.constprop.0 from __netif_receive_skb_one_core
__netif_receive_skb_one_core from process_backlog
process_backlog from __napi_poll.constprop.0
__napi_poll.constprop.0 from net_rx_action
net_rx_action from __do_softirq
__do_softirq from call_with_stack
call_with_stack from do_softirq
do_softirq from __local_bh_enable_ip
__local_bh_enable_ip from netif_rx
netif_rx from ks8851_irq
ks8851_irq from irq_thread_fn
irq_thread_fn from irq_thread
irq_thread from kthread
kthread from ret_from_fork

The hang happens because ks8851_irq() first locks a spinlock in
ks8851_par.c ks8851_lock_par() spin_lock_irqsave(&ksp->lock, ...)
and with that spinlock locked, calls netif_rx(). Once the execution
reaches ks8851_start_xmit_par(), it calls ks8851_lock_par() again
which attempts to claim the already locked spinlock again, and the
hang happens.

Move the do_softirq() call outside of the spinlock protected section
of ks8851_irq() by disabling BHs around the entire spinlock protected
section of ks8851_irq() handler. Place local_bh_enable() outside of
the spinlock protected section, so that it can trigger do_softirq()
without the ks8851_par.c ks8851_lock_par() spinlock being held, and
safely call ks8851_start_xmit_par() without attempting to lock the
already locked spinlock.

Since ks8851_irq() is protected by local_bh_disable()/local_bh_enable()
now, replace netif_rx() with __netif_rx() which is not duplicating the
local_bh_disable()/local_bh_enable() calls.

Weakness: CWE-667 (Improper Locking)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-35971?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-35971?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-35971 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-35971 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2024-35971 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-35971 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 20 May 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-35971 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-35971/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-35971/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-35971
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-35971
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-35971

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-35971/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.