CVE-2024-35838: 
Linux Kernel vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2024-35838 affects the Linux kernel's mac80211 subsystem, specifically related to station link management. The vulnerability was discovered and disclosed on May 17, 2024, and involves a potential memory leak in the WiFi stack when handling station allocation and link management. The issue affects various Linux kernel versions that implement the mac80211 subsystem (Kernel Git).

The vulnerability occurs in the station link management code of the mac80211 subsystem. When a station is allocated, links are added but not set to valid yet (e.g., during connection to an AP MLD). In certain scenarios, the station might be removed without ever marking these links as valid, leading to a memory leak. The issue stems from a bug in the sta_info_free function where the link removal logic incorrectly checked for valid links instead of allocated links (Kernel Git).

The vulnerability can result in memory leaks in the Linux kernel's WiFi stack, potentially leading to resource exhaustion over time. This could affect system stability and performance on affected systems using WiFi connectivity (NVD).

The vulnerability requires local access to a system using the affected WiFi stack components. There are no known reports of this vulnerability being exploited in the wild (NVD).

A fix has been implemented and is available in various Linux distributions. Ubuntu has released patches for affected versions, including fixes for Ubuntu 23.10 (linux 6.5.0-41.41), Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (linux-hwe 6.5.0-41.41~22.04.2), and several other packages (Ubuntu). The fix involves modifying the sta_info_free function to properly check for allocated links rather than valid links (Kernel Git).