CVE-2024-40998

System interruption via uninitialized ratelimit lock access

Published Jul 12, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026

Uninitialized resource use in the Linux kernel ext4 code allows local users to interrupt service during filesystem mounting. During __ext4_fill_super(), sysfs exposes msg_ratelimit_interval_ms before s_msg_ratelimit_state.lock is initialized, so a concurrent write makes ___ratelimit access the uninitialized spinlock. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access timed with ext4 mounting and orphan cleanup; the bounded consequence is a system hang or crash.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.27%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Uninitialized resource use in the Linux kernel ext4 code allows local users to interrupt service during filesystem mounting. During __ext4_fill_super(), sysfs exposes msg_ratelimit_interval_ms before s_msg_ratelimit_state.lock is initialized, so a concurrent write makes ___ratelimit access the uninitialized spinlock. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access timed with ext4 mounting and orphan cleanup; the bounded consequence is a system hang or crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2024-40998
Published
Jul 12, 2024
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-908, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 12, 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

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=3.13
  2. Affected versionversion=efbed4dc5857f845d787e406ce85097d1ccc5c4f <23afcd52af06880c6c913a0ad99022b8937b575c
  3. Affected versionversion=efbed4dc5857f845d787e406ce85097d1ccc5c4f <645267906944a9aeec9d5c56ee24a9096a288798
  4. Affected versionversion=efbed4dc5857f845d787e406ce85097d1ccc5c4f <b4b4fda34e535756f9e774fb2d09c4537b7dfd1c

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=3.13; version=efbed4dc5857f845d787e406ce85097d1ccc5c4f <23afcd52af06880c6c913a0ad99022b8937b575c; version=efbed4dc5857f845d787e406ce85097d1ccc5c4f <645267906944a9aeec9d5c56ee24a9096a288798; version=efbed4dc5857f845d787e406ce85097d1ccc5c4f <b4b4fda34e535756f9e774fb2d09c4537b7dfd1c

Published CVSS scores

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

CWE-908Use of Uninitialized Resource
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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