PoC Exploit Released for Critical Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation Vulnerability (CVE-2024-53141)

High-Severity Linux Kernel Vulnerability Enables Privilege Escalation via Heap Memory Corruption

A serious vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ipset component, now tracked as CVE-2024-53141, has emerged as a critical security risk following the release of a public proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit. The flaw, which affects the bitmap:ip type used in the kernel’s network filtering subsystem, can be exploited to gain root-level access by corrupting kernel heap memory.

Vulnerability Summary

The vulnerability stems from improper bounds checking in the bitmap_ip_uadt function. Specifically, when a request contains the IPSET_ATTR_CIDR attribute without the IPSET_ATTR_IP_TO field, the function may compute an IP range that extends beyond the allocated boundaries of the memory map. This leads to out-of-bounds (OOB) memory writes, which attackers can leverage to corrupt internal kernel data structures.

Common Exploitation Techniques

With the PoC now in circulation, security experts have documented several practical techniques an attacker might use to exploit this flaw:

• Heap Memory Leaks: By crafting malicious ipset entries with specific comments or attributes, attackers can cause the kernel to leak heap addresses. These leaks allow them to bypass Kernel Address Space Layout Randomization (KASLR), a key mitigation in modern Linux systems.

• Arbitrary Writes via Counters: IP sets with counters can be abused to perform writes to controlled memory locations. Attackers can manipulate bytes or packets counters to write values beyond the allocated memory range.

• Use-After-Free via Controlled Memory Layout: Attackers may trigger use-after-free conditions by aligning memory allocations for vulnerable structures such as msg_msgseg or pipe_buffer. By reclaiming freed objects, they can overwrite kernel function pointers.

• Hijacking Function Pointers: Once control of a structure like pipe_buffer is achieved, attackers can overwrite its function pointers (e.g., buf->ops->release) to redirect kernel execution to attacker-supplied ROP (Return-Oriented Programming) chains.

• Abusing core_pattern for Privilege Escalation: A commonly used technique in real-world kernel exploits, attackers can overwrite the kernel’s core_pattern variable to run a user-controlled binary whenever a crash occurs—executing it with root privileges.

Each of these steps is commonly observed in modern kernel exploits and has been demonstrated as viable through the released PoC.

Impact and Affected Systems

This vulnerability affects Linux kernel versions v2.7 through v6.12 and is present in many major distributions, including Ubuntu, SUSE, and container-focused environments. The vulnerability is rated 7.8 on the CVSS scale, marking it as high severity due to the potential for privilege escalation and full system compromise.

Given the availability of a working exploit and the relative accessibility of the attack chain for experienced threat actors, unpatched systems are at significant risk—especially in multi-user or exposed environments.

Recommended Mitigations

System administrators and security teams are advised to take immediate action:

• Update Affected Systems: Kernel patches are being rolled out by major distributions. Ensure your systems are updated with the latest security releases.

• Limit Access to IPset Management: Restrict IP set creation and modification capabilities to trusted users only.

• Enable Monitoring and Logging: Watch for kernel crashes, unexpected privilege escalations, or anomalies that may indicate an attempted or successful exploit.

Conclusion

CVE-2024-53141 underscores the serious impact a subtle logic error in the kernel can have on system security. With a public exploit now available, attackers have a clear path to root-level access on vulnerable machines. Timely patching and proactive hardening are essential to defend Linux infrastructure from compromise.