Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2024-38577
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 · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: rcu-tasks: Fix show_rcu_tasks_trace_gp_kthread buffer overflow There is a possibility of buffer overflow in show_rcu_tasks_trace_gp_kthread() if counters, passed to sprintf() are huge. Counter numbers, needed for this are unrealistically high, but buffer overflow is still possible. Use snprintf() with buffer size instead of sprintf(). Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with SVACE.
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 analysisA fixed-size buffer is filled without checking the length of the incoming data, so it overflows into neighbouring memory. This is the classic overflow attackers use to overwrite return addresses and hijack execution. The fix is strict length checks and safe, bounded string and memory functions.
General guidance for the classic buffer overflow 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
>= 5.8, < 5.10.226>= 5.11, < 5.15.167>= 5.16, < 6.1.93>= 6.2, < 6.6.33>= 6.7, < 6.8.12>= 6.9, < 6.9.3CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 · scoped5.10.2265.15.1676.1.93
5.10.226, 5.15.167, 6.1.93, or 6.6.33 (depending on which branch you are on)
- Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 5.10.226 or later if running 5.10.x
- Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 5.15.167 or later if running 5.11.x through 5.15.x
- Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 6.1.93 or later if running 5.16.x through 6.1.x
- Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 6.6.33 or later if running 6.2.x through 6.6.x
- After upgrade, verify the fix by checking that show_rcu_tasks_trace_gp_kthread() uses snprintf() instead of sprintf()
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-38577 — 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-2024-38577 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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