Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2024-38592
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: drm/mediatek: Init `ddp_comp` with devm_kcalloc() In the case where `conn_routes` is true we allocate an extra slot in the `ddp_comp` array but mtk_drm_crtc_create() never seemed to initialize it in the test case I ran. For me, this caused a later crash when we looped through the array in mtk_drm_crtc_mode_valid(). This showed up for me when I booted with `slub_debug=FZPUA` which poisons the memory initially. Without `slub_debug` I couldn't reproduce, presumably because the later code handles the value being NULL and in most cases (not guaranteed in all cases) the memory the allocator returned started out as 0. It really doesn't hurt to initialize the array with devm_kcalloc() since the array is small and the overhead of initting a handful of elements to 0 is small. In general initting memory to zero is a safer practice and usually it's suggested to only use the non-initting alloc functions if you really need to. Let's switch the function to use an allocation function that zeros the memory. For me, this avoids the crash.
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 analysisMemory or a resource is used before it has been initialised, so its contents are whatever happened to be there — sometimes leaking earlier data, sometimes values an attacker can influence. Behaviour becomes unpredictable and occasionally exploitable. Remediation is initialising every resource before use and ensuring initialisation happens on all code paths.
General guidance for the use of uninitialized resource 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
>= 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
- 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 · scoped6.8.126.9.3
Linux Kernel 6.8.12 or 6.9.3 (or later stable releases)
- 1. Identify the current running kernel version using `uname -r` or `cat /proc/version`
- 2. Download or obtain the fixed kernel version: Linux kernel 6.8.12 or later, or 6.9.3 or later
- 3. Upgrade the Linux kernel to the fixed version using your distribution's package manager or kernel installation method
- 4. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
- 5. Verify the fix is applied by checking the drm/mediatek driver code in the new kernel: look for `devm_kcalloc()` usage in the affected file (drivers/gpu/drm/mediatek/mtk_drm_crtc.c)
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-2024-38592 — 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-2024-38592 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data