# CVE-2024-42272: sched: act_ct: take care of padding in struct zones_ht_key > A local attacker can read uninitialized kernel memory via the sched act_ct module due to improper handling of struct padding in hash table lookups. - **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 17 Aug 2024 - **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026 - **Also known as:** AZL-49749, BELL-CVE-2024-42272, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-42272, GHSA-cfx8-vqq2-xr93, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-42272 ## What is CVE-2024-42272? CVE-2024-42272 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 17 Aug 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: sched: act_ct: take care of padding in struct zones_ht_key Blamed commit increased lookup key size from 2 bytes to 16 bytes, because zones_ht_key got a struct net pointer. Make sure rhashtable_lookup() is not using the padding bytes which are not initialized. BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in rht_ptr_rcu include/linux/rhashtable.h:376 [inline] BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in __rhashtable_lookup include/linux/rhashtable.h:607 [inline] BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in rhashtable_lookup include/linux/rhashtable.h:646 [inline] BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in rhashtable_lookup_fast include/linux/rhashtable.h:672 [inline] BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in tcf_ct_flow_table_get+0x611/0x2260 net/sched/act_ct.c:329 rht_ptr_rcu include/linux/rhashtable.h:376 [inline] __rhashtable_lookup include/linux/rhashtable.h:607 [inline] rhashtable_lookup include/linux/rhashtable.h:646 [inline] rhashtable_lookup_fast include/linux/rhashtable.h:672 [inline] tcf_ct_flow_table_get+0x611/0x2260 net/sched/act_ct.c:329 tcf_ct_init+0xa67/0x2890 net/sched/act_ct.c:1408 tcf_action_init_1+0x6cc/0xb30 net/sched/act_api.c:1425 tcf_action_init+0x458/0xf00 net/sched/act_api.c:1488 tcf_action_add net/sched/act_api.c:2061 [inline] tc_ctl_action+0x4be/0x19d0 net/sched/act_api.c:2118 rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x12fc/0x1410 net/core/rtnetlink.c:6647 netlink_rcv_skb+0x375/0x650 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2550 rtnetlink_rcv+0x34/0x40 net/core/rtnetlink.c:6665 netlink_unicast_kernel net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1331 [inline] netlink_unicast+0xf52/0x1260 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1357 netlink_sendmsg+0x10da/0x11e0 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1901 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:730 [inline] __sock_sendmsg+0x30f/0x380 net/socket.c:745 ____sys_sendmsg+0x877/0xb60 net/socket.c:2597 ___sys_sendmsg+0x28d/0x3c0 net/socket.c:2651 __sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2680 [inline] __do_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2689 [inline] __se_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2687 [inline] __x64_sys_sendmsg+0x307/0x4a0 net/socket.c:2687 x64_sys_call+0x2dd6/0x3c10 arch/x86/include/generated/asm/syscalls_64.h:47 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:52 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xcd/0x1e0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:83 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f Local variable key created at: tcf_ct_flow_table_get+0x4a/0x2260 net/sched/act_ct.c:324 tcf_ct_init+0xa67/0x2890 net/sched/act_ct.c:1408 Weakness: CWE-908 (Use of Uninitialized Resource) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-42272? It affects 1 product. Products: Linux kernel. ## How do I fix CVE-2024-42272? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2024-42272 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-42272 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-2024-42272 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2024-42272 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 17 Aug 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-2024-42272 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-2024-42272/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-42272/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-42272 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-42272 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-42272 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-42272/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.