CVE-2024-51394
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 · uneditedBuffer Overflow vulnerability in Ardupiot Copter Latest commit 92693e023793133e49a035daf37c14433e484778 allows a local attacker to cause a denial of service via the AP_MSP::loop, AP_MSP, AP_MSP.cpp components.
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 confidenceBuffer overflow vulnerability in the AP_MSP component (AP_MSP.cpp, AP_MSP::loop) of Ardupilot Copter allows a local attacker to cause denial of service by overflowing a buffer in the MSP protocol handling code.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Ardupilot Copter installation and versionRun 'ardupilot --version' or check the firmware binary metadata. On flight controllers, check the boot logs or parameter SYSID for the firmware version string.Affected if The installed version is prior to the fix commit 92693e023793133e49a035daf37c14433e484778 and you cannot confirm the bounds checking patch is applied.
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Verify AP_MSP module is loadedCheck Ardupilot parameters for MSP-related settings. Look for parameters like MSP_OSD_ENABLE, MSP_GPS_ENABLE, or check the list of enabled modules via 'module list' command or the firmware build configuration.Affected if The AP_MSP module is enabled in the firmware build or runtime configuration.
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Inspect MSP protocol configurationReview the MSP_ parameter group in the Ardupilot parameter file or via ground station software (Mission Planner, QGroundControl). Check for MSP_* parameters that indicate the MSP server or client is active.Affected if MSP server or client functionality is enabled, particularly MSP_SERVER_ENABLE or similar parameters set to 1.
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Check for crash logs or buffer overflow indicatorsReview flight controller logs (*.bin, *.log files) for any unexpected resets, stack overflow messages, or crashes that occurred in the MSP handling code. Look for 'AP_MSP' or 'buffer' keywords in debug logs.Affected if There are unexplained crashes or error messages related to MSP processing or memory corruption.
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Review custom MSP message handlersIf using custom MSP message definitions, inspect the AP_MSP.cpp file or equivalent in the source code for any custom message handlers that bypass bounds checking.Affected if Custom MSP message handling code exists that may not have proper bounds checking, or the firmware was built from source without the patch.
You are affected if Ardupilot Copter is running with the AP_MSP module enabled and the firmware version predates the bounds checking fix, or if you observe MSP-related crashes in logs.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataApply the patch from commit 92693e023793133e49a035daf37c14433e484778 which adds proper bounds checking in the AP_MSP buffer handling logic.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing5.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-51394 — 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-2024-51394 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
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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