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In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been...

Moderate severity Unreviewed Published Jun 19, 2024 to the GitHub Advisory Database • Updated May 12, 2026

Package

No package listedSuggest a package

Affected versions

Unknown

Patched versions

Unknown

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net: openvswitch: fix overwriting ct original tuple for ICMPv6

OVS_PACKET_CMD_EXECUTE has 3 main attributes:

  • OVS_PACKET_ATTR_KEY - Packet metadata in a netlink format.
  • OVS_PACKET_ATTR_PACKET - Binary packet content.
  • OVS_PACKET_ATTR_ACTIONS - Actions to execute on the packet.

OVS_PACKET_ATTR_KEY is parsed first to populate sw_flow_key structure
with the metadata like conntrack state, input port, recirculation id,
etc. Then the packet itself gets parsed to populate the rest of the
keys from the packet headers.

Whenever the packet parsing code starts parsing the ICMPv6 header, it
first zeroes out fields in the key corresponding to Neighbor Discovery
information even if it is not an ND packet.

It is an 'ipv6.nd' field. However, the 'ipv6' is a union that shares
the space between 'nd' and 'ct_orig' that holds the original tuple
conntrack metadata parsed from the OVS_PACKET_ATTR_KEY.

ND packets should not normally have conntrack state, so it's fine to
share the space, but normal ICMPv6 Echo packets or maybe other types of
ICMPv6 can have the state attached and it should not be overwritten.

The issue results in all but the last 4 bytes of the destination
address being wiped from the original conntrack tuple leading to
incorrect packet matching and potentially executing wrong actions
in case this packet recirculates within the datapath or goes back
to userspace.

ND fields should not be accessed in non-ND packets, so not clearing
them should be fine. Executing memset() only for actual ND packets to
avoid the issue.

Initializing the whole thing before parsing is needed because ND packet
may not contain all the options.

The issue only affects the OVS_PACKET_CMD_EXECUTE path and doesn't
affect packets entering OVS datapath from network interfaces, because
in this case CT metadata is populated from skb after the packet is
already parsed.

References

Published by the National Vulnerability Database Jun 19, 2024
Published to the GitHub Advisory Database Jun 19, 2024
Last updated May 12, 2026

Severity

Moderate

CVSS overall score

This score calculates overall vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 and is based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
/ 10

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector: More severe the more the remote (logically and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerability.
Attack complexity: More severe for the least complex attacks.
Privileges required: More severe if no privileges are required.
User interaction: More severe when no user interaction is required.
Scope: More severe when a scope change occurs, e.g. one vulnerable component impacts resources in components beyond its security scope.
Confidentiality: More severe when loss of data confidentiality is highest, measuring the level of data access available to an unauthorized user.
Integrity: More severe when loss of data integrity is the highest, measuring the consequence of data modification possible by an unauthorized user.
Availability: More severe when the loss of impacted component availability is highest.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS score

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

This score estimates the probability of this vulnerability being exploited within the next 30 days. Data provided by FIRST.
(17th percentile)

Weaknesses

Improper Initialization

The product does not initialize or incorrectly initializes a resource, which might leave the resource in an unexpected state when it is accessed or used. Learn more on MITRE.

CVE ID

CVE-2024-38558

GHSA ID

GHSA-v5cj-xc9v-xg6m

Source code

No known source code

Dependabot alerts are not supported on this advisory because it does not have a package from a supported ecosystem with an affected and fixed version.

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