Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-44981

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-09-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.10.7 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: workqueue: Fix UBSAN 'subtraction overflow' error in shift_and_mask() UBSAN reports the following 'subtraction overflow' error when booting in a virtual machine on Android: | Internal error: UBSAN: integer subtraction overflow: 00000000f2005515 [#1] PREEMPT SMP | Modules linked in: | CPU: 0 PID: 1 Comm: swapper/0 Not tainted 6.10.0-00006-g3cbe9e5abd46-dirty #4 | Hardware name: linux,dummy-virt (DT) | pstate: 600000c5 (nZCv daIF -PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) | pc : cancel_delayed_work+0x34/0x44 | lr : cancel_delayed_work+0x2c/0x44 | sp : ffff80008002ba60 | x29: ffff80008002ba60 x28: 0000000000000000 x27: 0000000000000000 | x26: 0000000000000000 x25: 0000000000000000 x24: 0000000000000000 | x23: 0000000000000000 x22: 0000000000000000 x21: ffff1f65014cd3c0 | x20: ffffc0e84c9d0da0 x19: ffffc0e84cab3558 x18: ffff800080009058 | x17: 00000000247ee1f8 x16: 00000000247ee1f8 x15: 00000000bdcb279d | x14: 0000000000000001 x13: 0000000000000075 x12: 00000a0000000000 | x11: ffff1f6501499018 x10: 00984901651fffff x9 : ffff5e7cc35af000 | x8 : 0000000000000001 x7 : 3d4d455453595342 x6 : 000000004e514553 | x5 : ffff1f6501499265 x4 : ffff1f650ff60b10 x3 : 0000000000000620 | x2 : ffff80008002ba78 x1 : 0000000000000000 x0 : 0000000000000000 | Call trace: | cancel_delayed_work+0x34/0x44 | deferred_probe_extend_timeout+0x20/0x70 | driver_register+0xa8/0x110 | __platform_driver_register+0x28/0x3c | syscon_init+0x24/0x38 | do_one_initcall+0xe4/0x338 | do_initcall_level+0xac/0x178 | do_initcalls+0x5c/0xa0 | do_basic_setup+0x20/0x30 | kernel_init_freeable+0x8c/0xf8 | kernel_init+0x28/0x1b4 | ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20 | Code: f9000fbf 97fffa2f 39400268 37100048 (d42aa2a0) | ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- | Kernel panic - not syncing: UBSAN: integer subtraction overflow: Fatal exception This is due to shift_and_mask() using a signed immediate to construct the mask and being called with a shift of 31 (WORK_OFFQ_POOL_SHIFT) so that it ends up decrementing from INT_MIN. Use an unsigned constant '1U' to generate the mask in shift_and_mask().

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-190

An arithmetic operation produces a value too large for its type and wraps around to an unexpected — often tiny or negative — number. That miscalculated value then drives a memory allocation or a bounds check, opening the door to corruption. The fix is checked arithmetic and validating sizes before they're used.

General guidance for the integer 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
Affected:>= 6.10, < 6.10.7= 6.11

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 6.10.7 or later
Fixed in 6.10.7
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 6.10.7 or later (or 6.11.1/6.12 or later)

  1. Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 6.10.7 or later to resolve the integer overflow vulnerability in shift_and_mask()
  2. If using kernel 6.11, upgrade to 6.11.1 or later which contains the fix
  3. After kernel upgrade, rebuild any custom kernel modules if necessary
  4. Reboot the system to load the patched kernel

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 $2,850. Get the upgrade done

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-44981 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-44981 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

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
  • 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