Cisa Warns Of Linux Kernel Use-after-free Vulnerability Exploi...

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued an urgent alert about a critical use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel, tracked as CVE-2024-1086.

This vulnerability, hidden within the netfilter: nf_tables component, allows local attackers to escalate their privileges and potentially deploy ransomware, which could severely disrupt enterprise systems worldwide.

First disclosed earlier this year, the vulnerability has now been linked to active exploitation campaigns targeting unpatched Linux servers, according to CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog updated on October 31, 2025.

As Linux powers everything from cloud infrastructure to IoT devices, this warning underscores the growing threat to open-source ecosystems amid rising ransomware incidents.

Security researchers have confirmed that attackers exploit CVE-2024-1086 by crafting malicious netfilter rules that trigger improper memory deallocation. Once a user with local access often gained through phishing or weak credentials runs the exploit, the system frees memory associated with a network table but fails to nullify the pointer, allowing reuse of dangling references.

This leads to arbitrary code execution with root privileges, paving the way for ransomware deployment like LockBit or Conti variants.

CISA emphasizes immediate patching, noting that affected versions span widely used distributions such as Ubuntu, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and Debian, particularly in versions predating kernel 6.1.77.

The vulnerability stems from a classic use-after-free error (CWE-416), where the kernel’s netfilter subsystem mishandles table destruction during rule evaluations. An attacker needs only local execution rights, making it a potent second-stage payload after initial access.

In ransomware scenarios, threat actors chain this with social engineering to encrypt files and exfiltrate data, demanding ransoms in cryptocurrency. Exploitation proofs-of-concept have circulated on underground forums since March 2024, with real-world attacks spiking in Q3 2025 against healthcare and financial sectors.

For a detailed overview, see the CVE specifications below:

Source: Cybersecurity News