dbcve.org
FreeBSDOperating system

CVE-2024-45287

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-09-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.3 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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
A malicious value of size in a structure of packed libnv can cause an integer overflow, leading to the allocation of a smaller buffer than required for the parsed data.

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 · moderate confidence

In packed libnv, a maliciously crafted size value in a structure can trigger an integer overflow during buffer allocation calculations, causing the allocation of a smaller buffer than required for the parsed data. This undersized buffer allocation can lead to subsequent buffer overflow or data corruption when data is written to the insufficient allocation.

MitigationImplement strict bounds checking and validation on size fields before performing allocation calculations to prevent integer overflows; ensure size values are within expected, safe limits and use safe arithmetic operations that detect overflow conditions.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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
FreeBSDOperating system
Affected:>= 13.0, < 13.3= 13.3= 13.4= 14.0= 14.1

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify FreeBSD version
    Run `freebsd-version -u` or `uname -r` to determine the installed FreeBSD release version
    Affected if Version is 13.0, 13.3, 13.4, 14.0, 14.1, or any version >= 13.0 and < 13.3
  2. Locate libnv library
    Search for libnv library files: `find /lib /usr/lib /usr/local/lib -name '*libnv*' 2>/dev/null`
    Affected if libnv library exists on the system (vulnerable code path present)
  3. Identify services using libnv
    Check running processes that use libnv: `ldd /boot/loader 2>/dev/null | grep libnv` and `procstat -a 2>/dev/null | grep -i libnv`
    Affected if Any service or binary (such as loader, kenv, or custom applications) is linked against libnv and actively parsing nv data
  4. Assess data input sources
    Review configuration files parsed by libnv in /boot/loader.conf, /etc/rc.conf, or custom .conf files: `grep -r '^[^#]*=' /boot/*.conf /etc/*.conf 2>/dev/null | head -20`
    Affected if System parses untrusted or potentially maliciously crafted name-value pair data through libnv (specifically packed nv structures with size fields)

System is affected if running FreeBSD 13.0-14.1 AND parsing name-value pair data through libnv where a maliciously crafted size value could be supplied in the input.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 13.3 or later
Fixed in 13.3
Interim mitigation

Implement strict bounds checking and validation on size fields before performing allocation calculations to prevent integer overflows; ensure size values are within expected, safe limits and use safe arithmetic operations that detect overflow conditions.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

FreeBSD 14.1 or later (or 13.5 when available)

  1. Identify the current FreeBSD version using 'uname -r'
  2. Backup critical data and configurations before upgrading
  3. Update FreeBSD to version 14.1 or later using 'freebsd-update fetch' followed by 'freebsd-update install'
  4. Alternatively, rebuild world and kernel from source using 'make buildworld' and 'make installworld' from a newer branch
  5. Reboot the system into the new kernel
  6. Verify the libnv library has been updated by checking the package or running 'pkg info libnv' or checking the installed version
Caveat Major FreeBSD upgrades may require checking application compatibility with newer system libraries; ensure third-party packages are rebuilt after base system upgrade

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

Fix this in FreeBSD Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-45287 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2024-45287 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