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Medium severity5.5NVD Advisory· Published May 19, 2024· Updated May 12, 2026

CVE-2024-35934

CVE-2024-35934

Description

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

net/smc: reduce rtnl pressure in smc_pnet_create_pnetids_list()

Many syzbot reports show extreme rtnl pressure, and many of them hint that smc acquires rtnl in netns creation for no good reason [1]

This patch returns early from smc_pnet_net_init() if there is no netdevice yet.

I am not even sure why smc_pnet_create_pnetids_list() even exists, because smc_pnet_netdev_event() is also calling smc_pnet_add_base_pnetid() when handling NETDEV_UP event.

[1] extract of typical syzbot reports

2 locks held by syz-executor.3/12252: #0: ffffffff8f369610 (pernet_ops_rwsem){++++}-{3:3}, at: copy_net_ns+0x4c7/0x7b0 net/core/net_namespace.c:491 #1: ffffffff8f375b88 (rtnl_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: smc_pnet_create_pnetids_list net/smc/smc_pnet.c:809 [inline] #1: ffffffff8f375b88 (rtnl_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: smc_pnet_net_init+0x10a/0x1e0 net/smc/smc_pnet.c:878 2 locks held by syz-executor.4/12253: #0: ffffffff8f369610 (pernet_ops_rwsem){++++}-{3:3}, at: copy_net_ns+0x4c7/0x7b0 net/core/net_namespace.c:491 #1: ffffffff8f375b88 (rtnl_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: smc_pnet_create_pnetids_list net/smc/smc_pnet.c:809 [inline] #1: ffffffff8f375b88 (rtnl_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: smc_pnet_net_init+0x10a/0x1e0 net/smc/smc_pnet.c:878 2 locks held by syz-executor.1/12257: #0: ffffffff8f369610 (pernet_ops_rwsem){++++}-{3:3}, at: copy_net_ns+0x4c7/0x7b0 net/core/net_namespace.c:491 #1: ffffffff8f375b88 (rtnl_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: smc_pnet_create_pnetids_list net/smc/smc_pnet.c:809 [inline] #1: ffffffff8f375b88 (rtnl_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: smc_pnet_net_init+0x10a/0x1e0 net/smc/smc_pnet.c:878 2 locks held by syz-executor.2/12261: #0: ffffffff8f369610 (pernet_ops_rwsem){++++}-{3:3}, at: copy_net_ns+0x4c7/0x7b0 net/core/net_namespace.c:491 #1: ffffffff8f375b88 (rtnl_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: smc_pnet_create_pnetids_list net/smc/smc_pnet.c:809 [inline] #1: ffffffff8f375b88 (rtnl_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: smc_pnet_net_init+0x10a/0x1e0 net/smc/smc_pnet.c:878 2 locks held by syz-executor.0/12265: #0: ffffffff8f369610 (pernet_ops_rwsem){++++}-{3:3}, at: copy_net_ns+0x4c7/0x7b0 net/core/net_namespace.c:491 #1: ffffffff8f375b88 (rtnl_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: smc_pnet_create_pnetids_list net/smc/smc_pnet.c:809 [inline] #1: ffffffff8f375b88 (rtnl_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: smc_pnet_net_init+0x10a/0x1e0 net/smc/smc_pnet.c:878 2 locks held by syz-executor.3/12268: #0: ffffffff8f369610 (pernet_ops_rwsem){++++}-{3:3}, at: copy_net_ns+0x4c7/0x7b0 net/core/net_namespace.c:491 #1: ffffffff8f375b88 (rtnl_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: smc_pnet_create_pnetids_list net/smc/smc_pnet.c:809 [inline] #1: ffffffff8f375b88 (rtnl_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: smc_pnet_net_init+0x10a/0x1e0 net/smc/smc_pnet.c:878 2 locks held by syz-executor.4/12271: #0: ffffffff8f369610 (pernet_ops_rwsem){++++}-{3:3}, at: copy_net_ns+0x4c7/0x7b0 net/core/net_namespace.c:491 #1: ffffffff8f375b88 (rtnl_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: smc_pnet_create_pnetids_list net/smc/smc_pnet.c:809 [inline] #1: ffffffff8f375b88 (rtnl_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: smc_pnet_net_init+0x10a/0x1e0 net/smc/smc_pnet.c:878 2 locks held by syz-executor.1/12274: #0: ffffffff8f369610 (pernet_ops_rwsem){++++}-{3:3}, at: copy_net_ns+0x4c7/0x7b0 net/core/net_namespace.c:491 #1: ffffffff8f375b88 (rtnl_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: smc_pnet_create_pnetids_list net/smc/smc_pnet.c:809 [inline] #1: ffffffff8f375b88 (rtnl_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: smc_pnet_net_init+0x10a/0x1e0 net/smc/smc_pnet.c:878 2 locks held by syz-executor.2/12280: #0: ffffffff8f369610 (pernet_ops_rwsem){++++}-{3:3}, at: copy_net_ns+0x4c7/0x7b0 net/core/net_namespace.c:491 #1: ffffffff8f375b88 (rtnl_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: smc_pnet_create_pnetids_list net/smc/smc_pnet.c:809 [inline] #1: ffffffff8f375b88 (rtnl_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: smc_pnet_net_init+0x10a/0x1e0 net/smc/smc_pnet.c:878

AI Insight

LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.

Linux kernel SMC subsystem acquires RTNL lock unnecessarily during netns creation, causing contention and potential denial of service.

Vulnerability

In the Linux kernel's SMC (Shared Memory Communications) subsystem, the function smc_pnet_create_pnetids_list() acquires the RTNL (Routing Netlink) lock during network namespace creation, even when no network devices are present. This unnecessary lock acquisition leads to extreme RTNL pressure.

Exploitation

Syzbot reports show multiple locks held with RTNL mutex during namespace creation, indicating that an attacker who can create network namespaces can trigger this issue. No special privileges are required beyond the ability to create namespaces.

Impact

By repeatedly creating network namespaces, an attacker can cause significant contention on the RTNL lock, resulting in system-wide performance degradation or denial of service.

Mitigation

The fix returns early from smc_pnet_net_init() if no netdevice exists, avoiding unnecessary RTNL acquisition. Patches have been applied to the Linux kernel and backported to stable releases.

AI Insight generated on May 20, 2026. Synthesized from this CVE's description and the cited reference URLs; citations are validated against the source bundle.

Affected products

118

Patches

0

No patches discovered yet.

Vulnerability mechanics

AI mechanics synthesis has not run for this CVE yet.

References

8

News mentions

0

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