# CVE-2024-57886: mm/damon/core: fix new damon_target objects leaks on damon_commit_targets()

> A memory leak in the Linux kernel DAMON subsystem allows local attackers to exhaust system memory via the sysfs interface, causing 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:** 15 Jan 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-57886, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-57886, GHSA-6xcg-rcf7-q8xw, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-57886

## What is CVE-2024-57886?

CVE-2024-57886 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 15 Jan 2025. 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:

mm/damon/core: fix new damon_target objects leaks on damon_commit_targets()

Patch series "mm/damon/core: fix memory leaks and ignored inputs from
damon_commit_ctx()".

Due to two bugs in damon_commit_targets() and damon_commit_schemes(),
which are called from damon_commit_ctx(), some user inputs can be ignored,
and some mmeory objects can be leaked.  Fix those.

Note that only DAMON sysfs interface users are affected.  Other DAMON core
API user modules that more focused more on simple and dedicated production
usages, including DAMON_RECLAIM and DAMON_LRU_SORT are not using the buggy
function in the way, so not affected.

This patch (of 2):

When new DAMON targets are added via damon_commit_targets(), the newly
created targets are not deallocated when updating the internal data
(damon_commit_target()) is failed.  Worse yet, even if the setup is
successfully done, the new target is not linked to the context.  Hence,
the new targets are always leaked regardless of the internal data setup
failure.  Fix the leaks.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-57886?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-57886?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-57886 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-57886 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-2024-57886 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-57886 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 15 Jan 2025. 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-2024-57886 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-2024-57886/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-57886/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-57886
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-57886
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-57886

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-57886/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.