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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-38578

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-06-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.19.316 / 5.4.278 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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: ecryptfs: Fix buffer size for tag 66 packet The 'TAG 66 Packet Format' description is missing the cipher code and checksum fields that are packed into the message packet. As a result, the buffer allocated for the packet is 3 bytes too small and write_tag_66_packet() will write up to 3 bytes past the end of the buffer. Fix this by increasing the size of the allocation so the whole packet will always fit in the buffer. This fixes the below kasan slab-out-of-bounds bug: BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in ecryptfs_generate_key_packet_set+0x7d6/0xde0 Write of size 1 at addr ffff88800afbb2a5 by task touch/181 CPU: 0 PID: 181 Comm: touch Not tainted 6.6.13-gnu #1 4c9534092be820851bb687b82d1f92a426598dc6 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.2/GNU Guix 04/01/2014 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x4c/0x70 print_report+0xc5/0x610 ? ecryptfs_generate_key_packet_set+0x7d6/0xde0 ? kasan_complete_mode_report_info+0x44/0x210 ? ecryptfs_generate_key_packet_set+0x7d6/0xde0 kasan_report+0xc2/0x110 ? ecryptfs_generate_key_packet_set+0x7d6/0xde0 __asan_store1+0x62/0x80 ecryptfs_generate_key_packet_set+0x7d6/0xde0 ? __pfx_ecryptfs_generate_key_packet_set+0x10/0x10 ? __alloc_pages+0x2e2/0x540 ? __pfx_ovl_open+0x10/0x10 [overlay 30837f11141636a8e1793533a02e6e2e885dad1d] ? dentry_open+0x8f/0xd0 ecryptfs_write_metadata+0x30a/0x550 ? __pfx_ecryptfs_write_metadata+0x10/0x10 ? ecryptfs_get_lower_file+0x6b/0x190 ecryptfs_initialize_file+0x77/0x150 ecryptfs_create+0x1c2/0x2f0 path_openat+0x17cf/0x1ba0 ? __pfx_path_openat+0x10/0x10 do_filp_open+0x15e/0x290 ? __pfx_do_filp_open+0x10/0x10 ? __kasan_check_write+0x18/0x30 ? _raw_spin_lock+0x86/0xf0 ? __pfx__raw_spin_lock+0x10/0x10 ? __kasan_check_write+0x18/0x30 ? alloc_fd+0xf4/0x330 do_sys_openat2+0x122/0x160 ? __pfx_do_sys_openat2+0x10/0x10 __x64_sys_openat+0xef/0x170 ? __pfx___x64_sys_openat+0x10/0x10 do_syscall_64+0x60/0xd0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x6e/0xd8 RIP: 0033:0x7f00a703fd67 Code: 25 00 00 41 00 3d 00 00 41 00 74 37 64 8b 04 25 18 00 00 00 85 c0 75 5b 44 89 e2 48 89 ee bf 9c ff ff ff b8 01 01 00 00 0f 05 <48> 3d 00 f0 ff ff 0f 87 85 00 00 00 48 83 c4 68 5d 41 5c c3 0f 1f RSP: 002b:00007ffc088e30b0 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000101 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 00007ffc088e3368 RCX: 00007f00a703fd67 RDX: 0000000000000941 RSI: 00007ffc088e48d7 RDI: 00000000ffffff9c RBP: 00007ffc088e48d7 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 00000000000001b6 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 0000000000000941 R13: 0000000000000000 R14: 00007ffc088e48d7 R15: 00007f00a7180040 </TASK> Allocated by task 181: kasan_save_stack+0x2f/0x60 kasan_set_track+0x29/0x40 kasan_save_alloc_info+0x25/0x40 __kasan_kmalloc+0xc5/0xd0 __kmalloc+0x66/0x160 ecryptfs_generate_key_packet_set+0x6d2/0xde0 ecryptfs_write_metadata+0x30a/0x550 ecryptfs_initialize_file+0x77/0x150 ecryptfs_create+0x1c2/0x2f0 path_openat+0x17cf/0x1ba0 do_filp_open+0x15e/0x290 do_sys_openat2+0x122/0x160 __x64_sys_openat+0xef/0x170 do_syscall_64+0x60/0xd0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x6e/0xd8

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:>= 2.6.21, < 4.19.316>= 4.20, < 5.4.278>= 5.5, < 5.10.219>= 5.11, < 5.15.161>= 5.16, < 6.1.93>= 6.2, < 6.6.33>= 6.7, < 6.8.12>= 6.9, < 6.9.3

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
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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.19.316 / 5.4.278 / 5.10.219 or later
Fixed in 4.19.3165.4.2785.10.219
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel 4.19.316+ / 5.4.278+ / 5.10.219+ / 5.15.161+ (depending on your current branch)

  1. Identify the currently running kernel version using 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version'
  2. Determine which branch of the Linux kernel is in use (e.g., 4.19.x, 5.4.x, 5.10.x, or 5.15.x)
  3. Upgrade the Linux kernel to a version at or above the fixed release for your branch: 4.19.316 for 4.19.x, 5.4.278 for 5.4.x, 5.10.219 for 5.10.x, or 5.15.161 for 5.15.x
  4. For distribution-specific systems, use the appropriate package manager (e.g., 'apt-get dist-upgrade', 'yum update', or 'dnf update') to install the updated kernel package
  5. Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
  6. Verify the fix by checking the kernel version with 'uname -r' and confirming it matches or exceeds the fixed release for your branch
  7. If the distribution does not have the fixed kernel available, consider compiling from source using the commit 0d0f8ba042af16519f1ef7dd10463a33b21b677c or later stable commits
Caveat Upgrading kernel versions may introduce compatibility issues with proprietary kernel modules or specific hardware drivers; ensure all modules are compatible with the new kernel version before rebooting

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

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $3,200. Get the upgrade done

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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-2024-38578 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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