CVE-2024-38574

Local bpftool crash via missing BTF metadata

Published Jun 19, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026

Null-pointer dereference in Linux libbpf 6.8 through 6.8.11 and 6.9 through 6.9.2 allows local users to crash bpftool. The libbpf program-loading path passes a null obj->btf pointer to btf__fd() when the input object has no BTF metadata, and btf__fd() dereferences it unchecked. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access capable of invoking the loader; the documented consequence is termination of the affected tool, not a kernel crash.

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

Null-pointer dereference in Linux libbpf 6.8 through 6.8.11 and 6.9 through 6.9.2 allows local users to crash bpftool. The libbpf program-loading path passes a null obj->btf pointer to btf__fd() when the input object has no BTF metadata, and btf__fd() dereferences it unchecked. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access capable of invoking the loader; the documented consequence is termination of the affected tool, not a kernel crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2024-38574
Published
Jun 19, 2024
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
Unavailable
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 19, 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=6.8
  2. Affected versionversion=df7c3f7d3a3ddab31ca8cfa9b86a8729ec43fd2e <1fd91360a75833b7110af9834ae26c977e1273e0
  3. Affected versionversion=df7c3f7d3a3ddab31ca8cfa9b86a8729ec43fd2e <9bf48fa19a4b1d186e08b20bf7e5de26a15644fb
  4. Affected versionversion=df7c3f7d3a3ddab31ca8cfa9b86a8729ec43fd2e <ef80b59acfa4dee4b5eaccb15572b69248831104

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=6.8; version=df7c3f7d3a3ddab31ca8cfa9b86a8729ec43fd2e <1fd91360a75833b7110af9834ae26c977e1273e0; version=df7c3f7d3a3ddab31ca8cfa9b86a8729ec43fd2e <9bf48fa19a4b1d186e08b20bf7e5de26a15644fb; version=df7c3f7d3a3ddab31ca8cfa9b86a8729ec43fd2e <ef80b59acfa4dee4b5eaccb15572b69248831104

Published CVSS scores

5.5UbuntuCVSS: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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 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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