CVE-2024-0340: Kernel: information disclosure in vhost/vhost.c:vhost_new_msg()

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2024-01-09 · updated 2026-10-29
Weakness: CWE-200

Description

A vulnerability was found in vhost_new_msg in drivers/vhost/vhost.c in the Linux kernel, which does not properly initialize memory in messages passed between virtual guests and the host operating system in the vhost/vhost.c:vhost_new_msg() function. This issue can allow local privileged users to read some kernel memory contents when reading from the /dev/vhost-net device file.

Affected products

Linux kernel: before 6.4; 6.4-rc1, 6.4-rc2, 6.4-rc3, 6.4-rc4, 6.4-rc5 — fixed in 6.4
kernel: before 6.4-rc6 — fixed in 6.4-rc6
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6: all versions
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7: all versions
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8: all versions — fixed in 0:4.18.0-553.5.1.rt7.346.el8_10
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9: all versions — fixed in 0:5.14.0-503.11.1.el9_5
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 Extended Update Support: all versions — fixed in 0:5.14.0-427.68.1.el9_4

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 6.4; kernel 6.4-rc6; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 0:4.18.0-553.5.1.rt7.346.el8_10; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 0:5.14.0-503.11.1.el9_5; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 Extended Update Support 0:5.14.0-427.68.1.el9_4. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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