Linux Kernel Vulnerability in HyperV Utility Driver

CVE-2024-55916

Summary

A race condition in the HyperV Utility Driver of the Linux kernel could cause a NULL pointer dereference if the KVP (or VSS) daemon initiates before the VMBus channel's ringbuffer is completely initialized. This situation arises when the KVP daemon opens the device file immediately upon creation, potentially leading to system instability. The vulnerability has been mitigated by adjusting the initialization sequence to ensure that the character device entry is only created after the channel has been fully opened, preventing the race condition and associated panic.

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