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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-26678

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-04-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.7.5 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

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 · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/efistub: Use 1:1 file:memory mapping for PE/COFF .compat section The .compat section is a dummy PE section that contains the address of the 32-bit entrypoint of the 64-bit kernel image if it is bootable from 32-bit firmware (i.e., CONFIG_EFI_MIXED=y) This section is only 8 bytes in size and is only referenced from the loader, and so it is placed at the end of the memory view of the image, to avoid the need for padding it to 4k, which is required for sections appearing in the middle of the image. Unfortunately, this violates the PE/COFF spec, and even if most EFI loaders will work correctly (including the Tianocore reference implementation), PE loaders do exist that reject such images, on the basis that both the file and memory views of the file contents should be described by the section headers in a monotonically increasing manner without leaving any gaps. So reorganize the sections to avoid this issue. This results in a slight padding overhead (< 4k) which can be avoided if desired by disabling CONFIG_EFI_MIXED (which is only needed in rare cases these days)

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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-787

The program writes past the bounds of a buffer, overwriting adjacent memory an attacker can turn to their advantage. Crafted input can overwrite control data and redirect execution. Remediation is validating every index and length before a write, plus modern memory-safety mitigations.

General guidance for the out-of-bounds write class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 6.7, < 6.7.5= 6.8

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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.7.5 or later
Fixed in 6.7.5
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 6.7.5 or later, or 6.8.1 or later

  1. Check current kernel version with `uname -r` or `cat /proc/version`
  2. Verify if CONFIG_EFI_MIXED is enabled in current kernel config via `cat /boot/config-$(uname -r) | grep CONFIG_EFI_MIXED` or `cat /proc/cmdline` for boot parameters
  3. If upgrade is not immediately possible and CONFIG_EFI_MIXED is not required (rare case - only needed for booting 64-bit kernel from 32-bit EFI firmware), rebuild kernel with CONFIG_EFI_MIXED=n to remove the vulnerable .compat section handling
  4. Otherwise, schedule a kernel upgrade to a version >= 6.7.5 or >= 6.8.1 that includes the fix
Caveat If CONFIG_EFI_MIXED was required for booting a 64-bit kernel from 32-bit EFI firmware, upgrading may break that specific boot path; however, this configuration is rare as most modern systems use 64-bit EFI

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-26678 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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