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NVD / CVE Program· CNA Linux

CVE-2024-50164: bpf: Fix overloading of MEM_UNINIT's meaning

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 28/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.21% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: Linux Linux 43f4df339a4d375bedcad29a61ae6f0ee7a048f8, 48068ccaea957469f1adf78dfd2c1c9a7e18f0fe, 5.16; azl3 kernel 6.6.57.1-7 on Azure Linux 3.0 6.6.64.2-1; azl3 kernel 6.6.64.2-1 on Azure Linux 3.0 6.6.64.2-1.
  • Mentioned 1 time in Turkish national cyber security advisories (siberguvenlik.gov.tr).

Low priority for now. Upgrade to Linux Linux 43f4df339a4d375bedcad29a61ae6f0ee7a048f8, 48068ccaea957469f1adf78dfd2c1c9a7e18f0fe, 5.16; azl3 kernel 6.6.57.1-7 on Azure Linux 3.0 6.6.64.2-1; azl3 kernel 6.6.64.2-1 on Azure Linux 3.0 6.6.64.2-1 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Fix overloading of MEM_UNINIT's meaning Lonial reported an issue in the BPF verifier where check_mem_size_reg() has the following code: if (!tnum_is_const(reg->var_off)) /* For unprivileged variable accesses, disable raw * mode so that the program is required to * initialize all the memory that the helper could * just partially fill up. */ meta = NULL; This means that writes are not checked when the register containing the size of the passed buffer has not a fixed size. Through this bug, a BPF program can write to a map which is marked as read-only, for example, .rodata global maps. The problem is that MEM_UNINIT's initial meaning that "the passed buffer to the BPF helper does not need to be initialized" which was added back in commit 435faee1aae9 ("bpf, verifier: add ARG_PTR_TO_RAW_STACK type") got overloaded over time with "the passed buffer is being written to". The problem however is that checks such as the above which were added later via 06c1c049721a ("bpf: allow helpers access to variable memory") set meta to NULL in order force the user to always initialize the passed buffer to the helper. Due to the current double meaning of MEM_UNINIT, this bypasses verifier write checks to the memory (not boundary checks though) and only assumes the latter memory is read instead. Fix this by reverting MEM_UNINIT back to its original meaning, and having MEM_WRITE as an annotation to BPF helpers in order to then trigger the BPF verifier checks for writing to memory. Some notes: check_arg_pair_ok() ensures that for ARG_CONST_SIZE{,_OR_ZERO} we can access fn->arg_type[arg - 1] since it must contain a preceding ARG_PTR_TO_MEM. For check_mem_reg() the meta argument can be removed altogether since we do check both BPF_READ and BPF_WRITE. Same for the equivalent check_kfunc_mem_size_reg().

HighCVSS 7.1 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Nov 7, 2024
Updated
Oct 15, 2026
EPSS
0.2% · 11th percentile
CWE
—

Report tools

JSON

Action score

28

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
28 / 40 · 7.1 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.2%

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
7.1
CNA · Linux
7.8
0.7 point gap

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

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

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  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

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  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
linuxlinux kernel

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • linux linux kernel5.19 and later · before 6.6.59
  • linux linux kernel6.7 and later · before 6.11.6
  • linux linux kernel6.12

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (Linux). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Linux Linux

    • 6099a6c8a749a5c8d5f8b4c4342022a92072a02b, bfe25df63048edd4ceaf78a2fc755d5e2befc978, 717c39718dbc4f7ebcbb7b625fb11851cd9007fe, 5d0bba8232bf22ce13747cbfc8f696318ff01a50, 70674d11d14eeecad90be4b409a22b902112ba32, a08d942ecbf46e23a192093f6983cb1d779f4fa8, 5.19affected
    • 97e6d7dab1ca4648821c790a2b7913d6d5d549db and later · before 43f4df339a4d375bedcad29a61ae6f0ee7a048f8affected · git
    • 97e6d7dab1ca4648821c790a2b7913d6d5d549db and later · before 48068ccaea957469f1adf78dfd2c1c9a7e18f0feaffected · git
    • 97e6d7dab1ca4648821c790a2b7913d6d5d549db and later · before 54bc31682660810af1bed7ca7a19f182df8d3df8affected · git
    • 97e6d7dab1ca4648821c790a2b7913d6d5d549db and later · before 8ea607330a39184f51737c6ae706db7fdca7628eaffected · git
    • 5.15.45 and later · before 5.16affected · semver
    • 5.17.13 and later · before 5.18affected · semver
    • 5.18.2 and later · before 5.19affected · semver
    • before 5.19not affected · semver
    • 6.1.125 and later · up to and including 6.1.*not affected · semver

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12linuxbefore 6.1.128-16.1.128-1
Debian:13linuxbefore 6.11.6-16.11.6-1

Same product

linux: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-31431crypto: algif_aead - Revert to operating out-of-placeKEV
    90Now
  • CVE-2022-0847A flaw was found in the way the "flags" member of the new pipe buffer structure was lacking proper initialization in copy_page_to_iter_pipe KEV
    89Now
  • CVE-2021-22555Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACEKEV
    85Now

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2024-50151Nov 7, 2024 · smb: client: fix OOBs when building SMB2_IOCTL request
    31Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2024-50153Nov 7, 2024 · scsi: target: core: Fix null-ptr-deref in target_alloc_device()
    22Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2024-50173Nov 8, 2024 · drm/panthor: Fix access to uninitialized variable in tick_ctx_cleanup()
    22Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Linux Linux43f4df339a4d375bedcad29a61ae6f0ee7a048f8Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linux48068ccaea957469f1adf78dfd2c1c9a7e18f0feVendor (CNA)
Linux Linux5.16Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linux5.18Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linux5.19Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linux54bc31682660810af1bed7ca7a19f182df8d3df8Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linux8ea607330a39184f51737c6ae706db7fdca7628eVendor (CNA)
azl3 kernel 6.6.57.1-7 on Azure Linux 3.06.6.64.2-1 · CBL-Mariner ReleasesMicrosoft (MSRC)
azl3 kernel 6.6.64.2-1 on Azure Linux 3.06.6.64.2-1 · CBL-Mariner ReleasesMicrosoft (MSRC)
debian:linux6.1.128-1 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

National notice (Türkiye Cybersecurity Directorate / USOM)

Official security notices citing this record; remediation advice is on the agency's page.

All national notices →

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
none
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
None
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

—

CVSS vector

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

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Show all references (6 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records