# CVE-2024-56638: netfilter: nft_inner: incorrect percpu area handling under softirq

> A race condition in Linux kernel netfilter allows softirqs to corrupt percpu data, potentially causing system crashes or instability.

- **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:** 27 Dec 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-56638, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-56638, GHSA-7g3g-qg84-qxww, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-56638

## What is CVE-2024-56638?

CVE-2024-56638 is a high-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:

netfilter: nft_inner: incorrect percpu area handling under softirq

Softirq can interrupt ongoing packet from process context that is
walking over the percpu area that contains inner header offsets.

Disable bh and perform three checks before restoring the percpu inner
header offsets to validate that the percpu area is valid for this
skbuff:

1) If the NFT_PKTINFO_INNER_FULL flag is set on, then this skbuff
   has already been parsed before for inner header fetching to
   register.

2) Validate that the percpu area refers to this skbuff using the
   skbuff pointer as a cookie. If there is a cookie mismatch, then
   this skbuff needs to be parsed again.

3) Finally, validate if the percpu area refers to this tunnel type.

Only after these three checks the percpu area is restored to a on-stack
copy and bh is enabled again.

After inner header fetching, the on-stack copy is stored back to the
percpu area.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-56638?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-56638?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-56638 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-56638 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-2024-56638 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-56638 is a high-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-2024-56638 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-2024-56638/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-56638/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-56638
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-56638
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-56638

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-56638/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.