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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-38634

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-06-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.19.316 / 5.4.278 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: serial: max3100: Lock port->lock when calling uart_handle_cts_change() uart_handle_cts_change() has to be called with port lock taken, Since we run it in a separate work, the lock may not be taken at the time of running. Make sure that it's taken by explicitly doing that. Without it we got a splat: WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 10 at drivers/tty/serial/serial_core.c:3491 uart_handle_cts_change+0xa6/0xb0 ... Workqueue: max3100-0 max3100_work [max3100] RIP: 0010:uart_handle_cts_change+0xa6/0xb0 ... max3100_handlerx+0xc5/0x110 [max3100] max3100_work+0x12a/0x340 [max3100]

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-667

Shared resources are accessed without correct locking, so concurrent operations interleave into inconsistent — and sometimes exploitable — states, or deadlock the service outright. These bugs are subtle and timing-dependent. The fix is correct, consistent locking or atomic operations around every shared resource.

General guidance for the improper locking 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:>= 2.6.31, < 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, < 6.9.4= 2.6.30

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 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 or later (depending on your version branch)

  1. Identify the current Linux kernel version using 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version'
  2. Determine which version branch your current kernel belongs to (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+, 5.4.278+, 5.10.219+, or 5.15.161+
  4. Use your distribution's package manager to install the new kernel (e.g., 'apt-get update && apt-get install linux-image-<version>' for Debian/Ubuntu, 'yum update kernel' for RHEL/CentOS, or 'zypper update kernel-default' for SUSE)
  5. Reboot the system to load the new kernel
  6. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version with 'uname -r' and confirming it meets or exceeds the fixed version for your branch
  7. Optionally, verify the specific commit 44b38924135d2093e2ec1812969464845dd66dc9 is included in the new kernel
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could have compatibility implications with custom drivers or modules; test in staging environment first

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 $1,600. 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-2024-38634 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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