# CVE-2024-56613: sched/numa: fix memory leak due to the overwritten vma->numab_state > A race condition in the Linux kernel NUMA scheduler causes a memory leak, potentially leading to resource exhaustion and 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-55172, BELL-CVE-2024-56613, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-56613, GHSA-qqv2-5qvx-v346, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-56613 ## What is CVE-2024-56613? CVE-2024-56613 is a medium-severity memory corruption 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: sched/numa: fix memory leak due to the overwritten vma->numab_state [Problem Description] When running the hackbench program of LTP, the following memory leak is reported by kmemleak. # /opt/ltp/testcases/bin/hackbench 20 thread 1000 Running with 20*40 (== 800) tasks. # dmesg | grep kmemleak ... kmemleak: 480 new suspected memory leaks (see /sys/kernel/debug/kmemleak) kmemleak: 665 new suspected memory leaks (see /sys/kernel/debug/kmemleak) # cat /sys/kernel/debug/kmemleak unreferenced object 0xffff888cd8ca2c40 (size 64): comm "hackbench", pid 17142, jiffies 4299780315 hex dump (first 32 bytes): ac 74 49 00 01 00 00 00 4c 84 49 00 01 00 00 00 .tI.....L.I..... 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ backtrace (crc bff18fd4): [] __kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x2f9/0x3f0 [] task_numa_work+0x725/0xa00 [] task_work_run+0x58/0x90 [] syscall_exit_to_user_mode+0x1c8/0x1e0 [] do_syscall_64+0x85/0x150 [] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e ... This issue can be consistently reproduced on three different servers: * a 448-core server * a 256-core server * a 192-core server [Root Cause] Since multiple threads are created by the hackbench program (along with the command argument 'thread'), a shared vma might be accessed by two or more cores simultaneously. When two or more cores observe that vma->numab_state is NULL at the same time, vma->numab_state will be overwritten. Although current code ensures that only one thread scans the VMAs in a single 'numa_scan_period', there might be a chance for another thread to enter in the next 'numa_scan_period' while we have not gotten till numab_state allocation [1]. Note that the command `/opt/ltp/testcases/bin/hackbench 50 process 1000` cannot the reproduce the issue. It is verified with 200+ test runs. [Solution] Use the cmpxchg atomic operation to ensure that only one thread executes the vma->numab_state assignment. [1] https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/1794be3c-358c-4cdc-a43d-a1f841d91ef7@amd.com/ Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-56613? It affects 1 product. Products: Linux kernel. ## How do I fix CVE-2024-56613? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2024-56613 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-56613 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-2024-56613 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2024-56613 is a medium-severity memory corruption 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-2024-56613 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-2024-56613/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-56613/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-56613 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-56613 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-56613 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-56613/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.