# CVE-2024-42073: mlxsw: spectrum_buffers: Fix memory corruptions on Spectrum-4 systems

> A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel mlxsw driver allows local attackers to cause memory corruption, potentially leading to code execution or system crashes.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/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:** 29 Jul 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-47130, AZL-47143, BELL-CVE-2024-42073, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-42073, GHSA-c3g7-jwpr-vrhq, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-42073

## What is CVE-2024-42073?

CVE-2024-42073 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 29 Jul 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:

mlxsw: spectrum_buffers: Fix memory corruptions on Spectrum-4 systems

The following two shared buffer operations make use of the Shared Buffer
Status Register (SBSR):

 # devlink sb occupancy snapshot pci/0000:01:00.0
 # devlink sb occupancy clearmax pci/0000:01:00.0

The register has two masks of 256 bits to denote on which ingress /
egress ports the register should operate on. Spectrum-4 has more than
256 ports, so the register was extended by cited commit with a new
'port_page' field.

However, when filling the register's payload, the driver specifies the
ports as absolute numbers and not relative to the first port of the port
page, resulting in memory corruptions [1].

Fix by specifying the ports relative to the first port of the port page.

[1]
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in mlxsw_sp_sb_occ_snapshot+0xb6d/0xbc0
Read of size 1 at addr ffff8881068cb00f by task devlink/1566
[...]
Call Trace:
 <TASK>
 dump_stack_lvl+0xc6/0x120
 print_report+0xce/0x670
 kasan_report+0xd7/0x110
 mlxsw_sp_sb_occ_snapshot+0xb6d/0xbc0
 mlxsw_devlink_sb_occ_snapshot+0x75/0xb0
 devlink_nl_sb_occ_snapshot_doit+0x1f9/0x2a0
 genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0x20c/0x300
 genl_rcv_msg+0x567/0x800
 netlink_rcv_skb+0x170/0x450
 genl_rcv+0x2d/0x40
 netlink_unicast+0x547/0x830
 netlink_sendmsg+0x8d4/0xdb0
 __sys_sendto+0x49b/0x510
 __x64_sys_sendto+0xe5/0x1c0
 do_syscall_64+0xc1/0x1d0
 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
[...]
Allocated by task 1:
 kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60
 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30
 __kasan_kmalloc+0x8f/0xa0
 copy_verifier_state+0xbc2/0xfb0
 do_check_common+0x2c51/0xc7e0
 bpf_check+0x5107/0x9960
 bpf_prog_load+0xf0e/0x2690
 __sys_bpf+0x1a61/0x49d0
 __x64_sys_bpf+0x7d/0xc0
 do_syscall_64+0xc1/0x1d0
 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f

Freed by task 1:
 kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60
 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30
 kasan_save_free_info+0x3b/0x60
 poison_slab_object+0x109/0x170
 __kasan_slab_free+0x14/0x30
 kfree+0xca/0x2b0
 free_verifier_state+0xce/0x270
 do_check_common+0x4828/0xc7e0
 bpf_check+0x5107/0x9960
 bpf_prog_load+0xf0e/0x2690
 __sys_bpf+0x1a61/0x49d0
 __x64_sys_bpf+0x7d/0xc0
 do_syscall_64+0xc1/0x1d0
 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-42073?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-42073?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-42073 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-42073 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-2024-42073 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-42073 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 29 Jul 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-2024-42073 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-2024-42073/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-42073/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-42073
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-42073
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-42073

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-42073/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.