# CVE-2024-56779: nfsd: fix nfs4_openowner leak when concurrent nfsd4_open occur

> Concurrent NFS open requests can cause memory leaks in the Linux kernel NFS server, leading to resource exhaustion and denial of service.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 8 Jan 2025
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-55349, AZL-55381, BELL-CVE-2024-56779, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-56779, GHSA-v6jm-7r7p-9979, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-56779

## What is CVE-2024-56779?

CVE-2024-56779 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 8 Jan 2025. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

nfsd: fix nfs4_openowner leak when concurrent nfsd4_open occur

The action force umount(umount -f) will attempt to kill all rpc_task even
umount operation may ultimately fail if some files remain open.
Consequently, if an action attempts to open a file, it can potentially
send two rpc_task to nfs server.

                   NFS CLIENT
thread1                             thread2
open("file")
...
nfs4_do_open
 _nfs4_do_open
  _nfs4_open_and_get_state
   _nfs4_proc_open
    nfs4_run_open_task
     /* rpc_task1 */
     rpc_run_task
     rpc_wait_for_completion_task

                                    umount -f
                                    nfs_umount_begin
                                     rpc_killall_tasks
                                      rpc_signal_task
     rpc_task1 been wakeup
     and return -512
 _nfs4_do_open // while loop
    ...
    nfs4_run_open_task
     /* rpc_task2 */
     rpc_run_task
     rpc_wait_for_completion_task

While processing an open request, nfsd will first attempt to find or
allocate an nfs4_openowner. If it finds an nfs4_openowner that is not
marked as NFS4_OO_CONFIRMED, this nfs4_openowner will released. Since
two rpc_task can attempt to open the same file simultaneously from the
client to server, and because two instances of nfsd can run
concurrently, this situation can lead to lots of memory leak.
Additionally, when we echo 0 to /proc/fs/nfsd/threads, warning will be
triggered.

                    NFS SERVER
nfsd1                  nfsd2       echo 0 > /proc/fs/nfsd/threads

nfsd4_open
 nfsd4_process_open1
  find_or_alloc_open_stateowner
   // alloc oo1, stateid1
                       nfsd4_open
                        nfsd4_process_open1
                        find_or_alloc_open_stateowner
                        // find oo1, without NFS4_OO_CONFIRMED
                         release_openowner
                          unhash_openowner_locked
                          list_del_init(&oo->oo_perclient)
                          // cannot find this oo
                          // from client, LEAK!!!
                         alloc_stateowner // alloc oo2

 nfsd4_process_open2
  init_open_stateid
  // associate oo1
  // with stateid1, stateid1 LEAK!!!
  nfs4_get_vfs_file
  // alloc nfsd_file1 and nfsd_file_mark1
  // all LEAK!!!

                         nfsd4_process_open2
                         ...

                                    write_threads
                                     ...
                                     nfsd_destroy_serv
                                      nfsd_shutdown_net
                                       nfs4_state_shutdown_net
                                        nfs4_state_destroy_net
                                         destroy_client
                                          __destroy_client
                                          // won't find oo1!!!
                                     nfsd_shutdown_generic
                                      nfsd_file_cache_shutdown
                                       kmem_cache_destroy
                                       for nfsd_file_slab
                                       and nfsd_file_mark_slab
                                       // bark since nfsd_file1
                                       // and nfsd_file_mark1
                                       // still alive

=======================================================================
BUG nfsd_file (Not tainted): Objects remaining in nfsd_file on
__kmem_cache_shutdown()
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Slab 0xffd4000004438a80 objects=34 used=1 fp=0xff11000110e2ad28
flags=0x17ffffc0000240(workingset|head|node=0|zone=2|lastcpupid=0x1fffff)
CPU: 4 UID: 0 PID: 757 Comm: sh Not tainted 6.12.0-rc6+ #19
Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS
1.16.1-2.fc37 04/01/2014
Call Trace:
 <TASK>
 dum
---truncated---

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-56779?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-56779?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-56779 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-56779 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-2024-56779 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-56779 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 8 Jan 2025. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-56779 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-2024-56779/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-56779/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-56779
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-56779
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-56779

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-56779/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.
