# CVE-2024-38596: af_unix: Fix data races in unix_release_sock/unix_stream_sendmsg

> A data race in the Linux kernel's AF_UNIX socket implementation can lead to a kernel crash, requiring a patch to fix atomic access issues.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 19 Jun 2024
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-38596, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-38596, GHSA-7fm3-3cqw-x6wj, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-38596

## What is CVE-2024-38596?

CVE-2024-38596 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jun 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

af_unix: Fix data races in unix_release_sock/unix_stream_sendmsg

A data-race condition has been identified in af_unix. In one data path,
the write function unix_release_sock() atomically writes to
sk->sk_shutdown using WRITE_ONCE. However, on the reader side,
unix_stream_sendmsg() does not read it atomically. Consequently, this
issue is causing the following KCSAN splat to occur:

	BUG: KCSAN: data-race in unix_release_sock / unix_stream_sendmsg

	write (marked) to 0xffff88867256ddbb of 1 bytes by task 7270 on cpu 28:
	unix_release_sock (net/unix/af_unix.c:640)
	unix_release (net/unix/af_unix.c:1050)
	sock_close (net/socket.c:659 net/socket.c:1421)
	__fput (fs/file_table.c:422)
	__fput_sync (fs/file_table.c:508)
	__se_sys_close (fs/open.c:1559 fs/open.c:1541)
	__x64_sys_close (fs/open.c:1541)
	x64_sys_call (arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:33)
	do_syscall_64 (arch/x86/entry/common.c:?)
	entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe (arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:130)

	read to 0xffff88867256ddbb of 1 bytes by task 989 on cpu 14:
	unix_stream_sendmsg (net/unix/af_unix.c:2273)
	__sock_sendmsg (net/socket.c:730 net/socket.c:745)
	____sys_sendmsg (net/socket.c:2584)
	__sys_sendmmsg (net/socket.c:2638 net/socket.c:2724)
	__x64_sys_sendmmsg (net/socket.c:2753 net/socket.c:2750 net/socket.c:2750)
	x64_sys_call (arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:33)
	do_syscall_64 (arch/x86/entry/common.c:?)
	entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe (arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:130)

	value changed: 0x01 -> 0x03

The line numbers are related to commit dd5a440a31fa ("Linux 6.9-rc7").

Commit e1d09c2c2f57 ("af_unix: Fix data races around sk->sk_shutdown.")
addressed a comparable issue in the past regarding sk->sk_shutdown.
However, it overlooked resolving this particular data path.
This patch only offending unix_stream_sendmsg() function, since the
other reads seem to be protected by unix_state_lock() as discussed in

Weakness: CWE-362 (Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-38596?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-38596?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-38596 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-38596 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-2024-38596 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-38596 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jun 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-38596 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-2024-38596/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-38596/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-38596
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-38596
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-38596

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-38596/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.