CVE-2024-38618

Local denial of service via undersized timer ticks

Published Jun 19, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026

Denial of service in the ALSA timer subsystem in affected Linux kernel releases allows local users to cause an RCU stall via a tiny start tick. The snd_timer_start1 function accepts intervals below 100 microseconds, letting high-resolution timer callbacks repeatedly queue expiry updates. Exploitation requires local access to ALSA timer APIs and can stall kernel RCU processing, interrupting host availability.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.65%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in the ALSA timer subsystem in affected Linux kernel releases allows local users to cause an RCU stall via a tiny start tick. The snd_timer_start1 function accepts intervals below 100 microseconds, letting high-resolution timer callbacks repeatedly queue expiry updates. Exploitation requires local access to ALSA timer APIs and can stall kernel RCU processing, interrupting host availability.

The record

CVE
CVE-2024-38618
Published
Jun 19, 2024
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1499
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=2.6.29
  2. Affected versionversion=bbaf5e97337287479eb78dbc3822d9560bbfd2e2 <2c95241ac5fc90c929d6c0c023e84bf0d30e84c3
  3. Affected versionversion=bbaf5e97337287479eb78dbc3822d9560bbfd2e2 <4a63bd179fa8d3fcc44a0d9d71d941ddd62f0c4e
  4. Affected versionversion=bbaf5e97337287479eb78dbc3822d9560bbfd2e2 <68396c825c43664b20a3a1ba546844deb2b4e48f
  5. Affected versionversion=bbaf5e97337287479eb78dbc3822d9560bbfd2e2 <74bfb8d90f2601718ae203faf45a196844c01fa1
  6. Affected versionversion=bbaf5e97337287479eb78dbc3822d9560bbfd2e2 <83f0ba8592b9e258fd80ac6486510ab1dcd7ad6e
  7. Affected versionversion=bbaf5e97337287479eb78dbc3822d9560bbfd2e2 <abb1ad69d98cf1ff25bb14fff0e7c3f66239e1cd
  8. Affected versionversion=bbaf5e97337287479eb78dbc3822d9560bbfd2e2 <bdd0aa055b8ec7e24bbc19513f3231958741d0ab
  9. Affected versionversion=bbaf5e97337287479eb78dbc3822d9560bbfd2e2 <ceab795a67dd28dd942d0d8bba648c6c0f7a044b

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=2.6.29; version=bbaf5e97337287479eb78dbc3822d9560bbfd2e2 <2c95241ac5fc90c929d6c0c023e84bf0d30e84c3; version=bbaf5e97337287479eb78dbc3822d9560bbfd2e2 <4a63bd179fa8d3fcc44a0d9d71d941ddd62f0c4e; version=bbaf5e97337287479eb78dbc3822d9560bbfd2e2 <68396c825c43664b20a3a1ba546844deb2b4e48f; version=bbaf5e97337287479eb78dbc3822d9560bbfd2e2 <74bfb8d90f2601718ae203faf45a196844c01fa1; version=bbaf5e97337287479eb78dbc3822d9560bbfd2e2 <83f0ba8592b9e258fd80ac6486510ab1dcd7ad6e; version=bbaf5e97337287479eb78dbc3822d9560bbfd2e2 <abb1ad69d98cf1ff25bb14fff0e7c3f66239e1cd; version=bbaf5e97337287479eb78dbc3822d9560bbfd2e2 <bdd0aa055b8ec7e24bbc19513f3231958741d0ab; version=bbaf5e97337287479eb78dbc3822d9560bbfd2e2 <ceab795a67dd28dd942d0d8bba648c6c0f7a044b

Published CVSS scores

5.3CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
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

T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

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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