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Medium severity4.7NVD Advisory· Published Sep 13, 2024· Updated May 12, 2026

CVE-2024-46679

CVE-2024-46679

Description

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

ethtool: check device is present when getting link settings

A sysfs reader can race with a device reset or removal, attempting to read device state when the device is not actually present. eg:

[exception RIP: qed_get_current_link+17] #8 [ffffb9e4f2907c48] qede_get_link_ksettings at ffffffffc07a994a [qede] #9 [ffffb9e4f2907cd8] __rh_call_get_link_ksettings at ffffffff992b01a3 #10 [ffffb9e4f2907d38] __ethtool_get_link_ksettings at ffffffff992b04e4 #11 [ffffb9e4f2907d90] duplex_show at ffffffff99260300 #12 [ffffb9e4f2907e38] dev_attr_show at ffffffff9905a01c #13 [ffffb9e4f2907e50] sysfs_kf_seq_show at ffffffff98e0145b #14 [ffffb9e4f2907e68] seq_read at ffffffff98d902e3 #15 [ffffb9e4f2907ec8] vfs_read at ffffffff98d657d1 #16 [ffffb9e4f2907f00] ksys_read at ffffffff98d65c3f #17 [ffffb9e4f2907f38] do_syscall_64 at ffffffff98a052fb

crash> struct net_device.state ffff9a9d21336000 state = 5,

state 5 is __LINK_STATE_START (0b1) and __LINK_STATE_NOCARRIER (0b100). The device is not present, note lack of __LINK_STATE_PRESENT (0b10).

This is the same sort of panic as observed in commit 4224cfd7fb65 ("net-sysfs: add check for netdevice being present to speed_show").

There are many other callers of __ethtool_get_link_ksettings() which don't have a device presence check.

Move this check into ethtool to protect all callers.

AI Insight

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

CVE-2024-46679: A race condition in the Linux kernel's ethtool subsystem lets a sysfs reader panic the kernel by reading link settings after a device is removed or reset.

Vulnerability

Description

CVE-2024-46679 is a race condition in the Linux kernel's ethtool subsystem. The function __ethtool_get_link_ksettings() can be called via a sysfs show operation (e.g., duplex_show) while the underlying network device is being reset or removed. The sysfs reader does not check whether the device is still present, leading to the possibility of invoking driver callbacks (like qede_get_link_ksettings) on a device that has been partially torn down, which results in a kernel panic (NULL pointer dereference) as seen in the call trace [CVE description].

Exploitation

An attacker with local access to sysfs (via sysfs_kf_seq_show) can race a device reset or removal by reading the affected attribute at the right moment. The attack requires no special privileges other than the ability to read sysfs entries (e.g., /sys/class/net//duplex), and can be triggered by a user with read access to the network device sysfs files. The race window is small, but the impact is a denial of service (kernel panic) [CVE description].

Impact

Successful exploitation causes a kernel panic (crash), resulting in a system denial of service. The root cause is the lack of a device presence check in ethtool_get_link_ksettings, leaving numerous callers exposed [CVE description]. The official CVSS v3 score is 4.7 (Medium) with the vector AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H, reflecting the local, high-complexity nature and availability impact only.

Mitigation

The fix introduces a device presence check inside the generic ethtool layer, protecting all callers. The patch has been merged into the upstream Linux kernel and is available at the stable commit [4]. Siemens has confirmed that affected SIMATIC S7-1500 TM MFP devices running the Linux subsystem are affected and lists this CVE among those addressed in their security advisory SSA-265688 [3]. Users should apply the kernel update or vendor patch as soon as possible.

References
  1. SSA-265688
  2. Making sure you're not a bot!

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

112

Patches

0

No patches discovered yet.

Vulnerability mechanics

AI mechanics synthesis has not run for this CVE yet.

References

12

News mentions

0

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