# CVE-2024-56592: bpf: Call free_htab_elem() after htab_unlock_bucket()

> A locking order violation in the Linux kernel BPF subsystem can trigger a lockdep warning and potential deadlock, 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:** 27 Dec 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-68315, BELL-CVE-2024-56592, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-56592, GHSA-cgvc-cp5h-2vph, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2024-56592, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2024-56592, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2024-56592, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-56592

## What is CVE-2024-56592?

CVE-2024-56592 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 Dec 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:

bpf: Call free_htab_elem() after htab_unlock_bucket()

For htab of maps, when the map is removed from the htab, it may hold the
last reference of the map. bpf_map_fd_put_ptr() will invoke
bpf_map_free_id() to free the id of the removed map element. However,
bpf_map_fd_put_ptr() is invoked while holding a bucket lock
(raw_spin_lock_t), and bpf_map_free_id() attempts to acquire map_idr_lock
(spinlock_t), triggering the following lockdep warning:

  =============================
  [ BUG: Invalid wait context ]
  6.11.0-rc4+ #49 Not tainted
  -----------------------------
  test_maps/4881 is trying to lock:
  ffffffff84884578 (map_idr_lock){+...}-{3:3}, at: bpf_map_free_id.part.0+0x21/0x70
  other info that might help us debug this:
  context-{5:5}
  2 locks held by test_maps/4881:
   #0: ffffffff846caf60 (rcu_read_lock){....}-{1:3}, at: bpf_fd_htab_map_update_elem+0xf9/0x270
   #1: ffff888149ced148 (&htab->lockdep_key#2){....}-{2:2}, at: htab_map_update_elem+0x178/0xa80
  stack backtrace:
  CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 4881 Comm: test_maps Not tainted 6.11.0-rc4+ #49
  Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), ...
  Call Trace:
   <TASK>
   dump_stack_lvl+0x6e/0xb0
   dump_stack+0x10/0x20
   __lock_acquire+0x73e/0x36c0
   lock_acquire+0x182/0x450
   _raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x43/0x70
   bpf_map_free_id.part.0+0x21/0x70
   bpf_map_put+0xcf/0x110
   bpf_map_fd_put_ptr+0x9a/0xb0
   free_htab_elem+0x69/0xe0
   htab_map_update_elem+0x50f/0xa80
   bpf_fd_htab_map_update_elem+0x131/0x270
   htab_map_update_elem+0x50f/0xa80
   bpf_fd_htab_map_update_elem+0x131/0x270
   bpf_map_update_value+0x266/0x380
   __sys_bpf+0x21bb/0x36b0
   __x64_sys_bpf+0x45/0x60
   x64_sys_call+0x1b2a/0x20d0
   do_syscall_64+0x5d/0x100
   entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e

One way to fix the lockdep warning is using raw_spinlock_t for
map_idr_lock as well. However, bpf_map_alloc_id() invokes
idr_alloc_cyclic() after acquiring map_idr_lock, it will trigger a
similar lockdep warning because the slab's lock (s->cpu_slab->lock) is
still a spinlock.

Instead of changing map_idr_lock's type, fix the issue by invoking
htab_put_fd_value() after htab_unlock_bucket(). However, only deferring
the invocation of htab_put_fd_value() is not enough, because the old map
pointers in htab of maps can not be saved during batched deletion.
Therefore, also defer the invocation of free_htab_elem(), so these
to-be-freed elements could be linked together similar to lru map.

There are four callers for ->map_fd_put_ptr:

(1) alloc_htab_elem() (through htab_put_fd_value())
It invokes ->map_fd_put_ptr() under a raw_spinlock_t. The invocation of
htab_put_fd_value() can not simply move after htab_unlock_bucket(),
because the old element has already been stashed in htab->extra_elems.
It may be reused immediately after htab_unlock_bucket() and the
invocation of htab_put_fd_value() after htab_unlock_bucket() may release
the newly-added element incorrectly. Therefore, saving the map pointer
of the old element for htab of maps before unlocking the bucket and
releasing the map_ptr after unlock. Beside the map pointer in the old
element, should do the same thing for the special fields in the old
element as well.

(2) free_htab_elem() (through htab_put_fd_value())
Its caller includes __htab_map_lookup_and_delete_elem(),
htab_map_delete_elem() and __htab_map_lookup_and_delete_batch().

For htab_map_delete_elem(), simply invoke free_htab_elem() after
htab_unlock_bucket(). For __htab_map_lookup_and_delete_batch(), just
like lru map, linking the to-be-freed element into node_to_free list
and invoking free_htab_elem() for these element after unlock. It is safe
to reuse batch_flink as the link for node_to_free, because these
elements have been removed from the hash llist.

Because htab of maps doesn't support lookup_and_delete operation,
__htab_map_lookup_and_delete_elem() doesn't have the problem, so kept
it as
---truncated---

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-56592?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-56592?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-56592 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-56592 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-2024-56592 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-56592 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 Dec 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-2024-56592 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-2024-56592/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-56592/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-56592
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-56592
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-56592

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-56592/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.