CVE-2024-26678

Boot failure via noncompliant PE section layout

Published Apr 2, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026

Improper PE/COFF section layout in Linux 6.7 allows local users to prevent booting on strict EFI loaders through a malformed memory map. The x86 EFI stub places the eight-byte .compat section at the end of the memory view without preserving monotonically increasing, gap-free file and memory section descriptions. The condition requires a 64-bit kernel built with CONFIG_EFI_MIXED, booted from 32-bit firmware by a loader that enforces the PE/COFF layout rules.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.22%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper PE/COFF section layout in Linux 6.7 allows local users to prevent booting on strict EFI loaders through a malformed memory map. The x86 EFI stub places the eight-byte .compat section at the end of the memory view without preserving monotonically increasing, gap-free file and memory section descriptions. The condition requires a 64-bit kernel built with CONFIG_EFI_MIXED, booted from 32-bit firmware by a loader that enforces the PE/COFF layout rules.

The record

CVE
CVE-2024-26678
Published
Apr 2, 2024
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
Unavailable
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 2, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=3e3eabe26dc88692d34cf76ca0e0dd331481cc15 <1ad55cecf22f05f1c884adf63cc09d3c3e609ebf
  2. Affected versionversion=3e3eabe26dc88692d34cf76ca0e0dd331481cc15 <4adeeff8c12321cd453412a659c3c0eeb9bb2397
  3. Affected versionversion=6.7
  4. Affected versionversion=686b58ce5052842bd34ea94870a2671317331716 <0a962f2fbaa976af9eed21d0306370cded485787
  5. Affected versionversion=c4421279b6c278efe129bde7abc64af59ea2dfbd <d327e961573fc335af0ae8a160302205327e1f4e

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=3e3eabe26dc88692d34cf76ca0e0dd331481cc15 <1ad55cecf22f05f1c884adf63cc09d3c3e609ebf; version=3e3eabe26dc88692d34cf76ca0e0dd331481cc15 <4adeeff8c12321cd453412a659c3c0eeb9bb2397; version=6.7; version=686b58ce5052842bd34ea94870a2671317331716 <0a962f2fbaa976af9eed21d0306370cded485787; version=c4421279b6c278efe129bde7abc64af59ea2dfbd <d327e961573fc335af0ae8a160302205327e1f4e

Published CVSS scores

5.5CanonicalCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

No sourced classifications are available.

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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