CVE-2024-21807
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedImproper initialization in the Linux kernel mode driver for some Intel(R) Ethernet Network Controllers and Adapters before version 28.3 may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceImproper initialization in the Linux kernel mode driver for Intel Ethernet controllers allows an authenticated local user to potentially escalate privileges to kernel level. The vulnerability affects driver versions prior to 28.3 and requires local access to exploit.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Intel Ethernet driver in useRun 'lsmod | grep -E "(ixgbe|ixgbevf|i40e|ice)"' to list loaded Intel Ethernet kernel modules, or use 'lspci -k | grep -A3 Ethernet' to see network controllers and their driversAffected if An Intel Ethernet driver module is loaded (ixgbe, ixgbevf, i40e, or ice)
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Retrieve driver versionUse 'modinfo <driver_name>' and look for the 'version:' field, or run 'ethtool -i <interface>' where <interface> is your Ethernet interface (e.g., eth0)Affected if The displayed version is below 28.3 (e.g., 28.2, 28.1, 27.x, etc.)
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Confirm kernel driver is activeCheck that the network interface is up with 'ip link show' and verify the driver handles traffic; the vulnerability only applies if the driver is actually in useAffected if The Intel Ethernet interface managed by the affected driver is active and configured
A system is affected if it runs an Intel Ethernet Linux kernel driver (ixgbe, ixgbevf, i40e, or ice) with a version lower than 28.3 that is currently loaded and managing a network interface
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedUpdate Intel Ethernet network driver to version 28.3 or later on affected systems. Verify network functionality after the driver update.
Intel Ethernet Linux kernel mode driver version 28.3
- Identify the current Intel Ethernet Linux kernel mode driver version using 'ethtool -i <interface>' or checking '/sys/class/net/<interface>/device/driver'
- Download Intel Ethernet driver version 28.3 or later from Intel's support website (www.intel.com/support)
- Install the driver update following Intel's provided installation instructions for your distribution
- Reboot the system to load the updated driver
- Verify the installed driver version is 28.3 or later using 'ethtool -i <interface>'
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-21807 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-21807 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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