CVE-2024-56766: 
Linux Kernel vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2024-56766 is a vulnerability in the Linux kernel's MTD (Memory Technology Device) subsystem, specifically in the NAND flash memory driver for Atmel PMECC (Programmable Multibit Error Correction Code) controller. The vulnerability was discovered in October 2024 and affects multiple versions of the Linux kernel from 4.19.325 through 6.12.8 (NVD).

The vulnerability is a double-free bug in the atmelpmecccreateuser() function. The issue arose when the 'user' pointer allocation was changed from kzalloc() to devmkzalloc(), but the error handling path still attempted to free the memory with kfree(user), leading to a potential double-free condition. The vulnerability has been assigned a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, indicating local access requirements but high potential impact (NVD).

The vulnerability could potentially lead to memory corruption due to the double-free condition, which could result in system crashes, denial of service, or potential privilege escalation in the Linux kernel. The high CVSS score indicates serious potential consequences for system confidentiality, integrity, and availability (NVD).

The vulnerability has been patched in the Linux kernel. The fix involves removing the kfree(user) call in the error handling path since the memory is now managed by the device's resource management system through devm_kzalloc(). The patch has been backported to affected stable kernel versions (Kernel Patch).