Vulnerability in Linux

CVE-2024-14027

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/xattr: missing fdput() in fremovexattr error path In the Linux kernel, the fremovexattr() syscall calls fdget() to acquire a file reference but returns early without calling fdput() when strncpy_from_user() fails on the name argument. In multi-threaded processes where fdget() takes the slow path, this permanently leaks one file reference per call, pinning the struct file and associated kernel objects in memory. An unprivileged local user can exploit this to cause kernel memory exhaustion. The issue was inadvertently fixed by commit a71874379ec8 ("xattr: switch to CLASS(fd)").

EPSS: 0.002 (11.4th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2024-14027?
CVE-2024-14027 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2026-03-09.
How severe is CVE-2024-14027?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.
Is CVE-2024-14027 known to be exploited?
1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.