CVE-2024-39503: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: ipset: Fix race between namespace cleanup and gc in the list:set type Lion Acke

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: ipset: Fix race between namespace cleanup and gc in the list:set type Lion Acke

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: ipset: Fix race between namespace cleanup and gc in the list:set type Lion Ackermann reported that there is a race condition between namespace cleanup in ipset and the garbage collection of the list:set type. The namespace cleanup can destroy the list:set type of sets while the gc of the set type is waiting to run in rcu cleanup. The latter uses data from the destroyed set which thus leads use after free. The patch contains the following parts: - When destroying all sets, first remove the garbage collectors, then wait if needed and then destroy the sets. - Fix the badly ordered "wait then remove gc" for the destroy a single set case. - Fix the missing rcu locking in the list:set type in the userspace test case. - Use proper RCU list handlings in the list:set type. The patch depends on c1193d9bbbd3 (netfilter: ipset: Add list flush to cancel_gc).

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.22%, higher than 12% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 31, 2026, updated daily.

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Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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