CVE-2024-46823

What it actually does

The vulnerability is a use-after-scope bug in kernel unit test code where a stack-allocated device_name array is passed outside its function scope to kunit_device_register, producing undefined behavior and a KASAN-detected kernel panic.

Why it matters to the business

Kernel testing or development environments may experience unexpected crashes, potentially disrupting CI pipelines or developer workflows, though the flaw resides only in test infrastructure and carries low real-world exposure risk.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker would need to trigger the overflow_allocation_test function under KASAN-enabled kernels so that the out-of-scope pointer is dereferenced during driver registration, leading to a panic; no external threat actors or campaigns are associated with this issue.

How to fix it

Update to a kernel containing commit d1207f07decc66546a7fa463d2f335a856c986ef or later; rebuild and redeploy any affected test kernels or distributions.

How to confirm the fix worked

Confirm the presence of commit d1207f07decc66546a7fa463d2f335a856c986ef in the source tree, re-run the kunit overflow tests with KASAN enabled, and verify that no panic occurs.

Typical attack path

1. Compile or load a kernel with KASAN and kunit enabled
2. Execute the overflow_allocation_test case
3. Trigger kunit_device_register with the stale device_name pointer
4. Observe kernel panic due to invalid memory access

How to detect it

Review kernel logs and KASAN reports from test systems for references to overflow_allocation_test or kunit_driver_create; no production exploitation indicators exist.

What your security team should do

• Apply the referenced upstream commit to all kernel builds used for testing
• Monitor kunit test logs for any memory-safety reports during CI runs
• Treat as low priority given the test-only scope and absence from KEV