CVE-2024-26585

What it actually does

Race condition between TLS transmit work scheduling and socket close in the Linux kernel, allowing the submitting thread to exit before work execution and potentially causing use-after-free or invalid memory access in async crypto paths.

Why it matters to the business

Possible kernel instability or crashes on systems performing TLS network operations, impacting service availability; widespread Linux kernel usage increases exposure but low exploitability and absence from known campaigns limit operational risk.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker with local access performs concurrent TLS sendmsg/recvmsg and socket close operations to win the race window before the fix reorders work scheduling ahead of completion signaling; no active threat actor campaigns or public exploits are associated despite generic kernel references.

How to fix it

Apply the upstream fix by updating to Linux kernel commit dd32621f19243f89ce830919496a5dcc2158aa33 or later stable versions containing the reordered work scheduling before complete() call.

How to confirm the fix worked

Confirm the running kernel contains commit dd32621f19243f89ce830919496a5dcc2158aa33 via git log or version string; exercise TLS workloads with concurrent socket closure under load to verify absence of races.

Typical attack path

1. Obtain local user privileges on a Linux system
2. Initiate TLS network traffic via sendmsg or recvmsg
3. Trigger socket close concurrently with async crypto completion
4. Exploit the scheduling race to access freed structures

How to detect it

Inspect kernel logs and dmesg for TLS transmit work or socket close panics; correlate with process activity involving TLS sockets, though no confirmed exploitation artifacts exist.

What your security team should do

• Upgrade affected Linux kernels to the fixed commit on all systems handling TLS traffic
• Monitor kernel logs for TLS and socket-related oops or warnings during patching window
• Prioritize updates on high-availability network servers given the 966 days since publication