# CVE-2024-50169: vsock: Update rx_bytes on read_skb()

> A bug in the Linux kernel vsock implementation causes a warning and potential instability when reading packets, leading to denial of service.

- **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:** 7 Nov 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-53450, BELL-CVE-2024-50169, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-50169, GHSA-p9j8-38hj-99w2, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-50169

## What is CVE-2024-50169?

CVE-2024-50169 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 7 Nov 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:

vsock: Update rx_bytes on read_skb()

Make sure virtio_transport_inc_rx_pkt() and virtio_transport_dec_rx_pkt()
calls are balanced (i.e. virtio_vsock_sock::rx_bytes doesn't lie) after
vsock_transport::read_skb().

While here, also inform the peer that we've freed up space and it has more
credit.

Failing to update rx_bytes after packet is dequeued leads to a warning on
SOCK_STREAM recv():

[  233.396654] rx_queue is empty, but rx_bytes is non-zero
[  233.396702] WARNING: CPU: 11 PID: 40601 at net/vmw_vsock/virtio_transport_common.c:589

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-50169?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-50169?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-50169 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-50169 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-2024-50169 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-50169 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 7 Nov 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-2024-50169 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-2024-50169/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-50169/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-50169
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-50169
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-50169

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-50169/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.