Boot-loader crash via unchecked argument allocation
Published Feb 18, 2025 · Updated Jul 20, 2026
Unchecked allocation handling in GNU GRUB 2.12 and earlier allows local users to crash the boot loader or corrupt IVT data. grub_extcmd_dispatcher() fails to test whether grub_arg_list_alloc() returned NULL, so parse_option() dereferences the failed allocation. The path requires local high-privilege access and memory-allocation failure; successful triggering interrupts boot-loader execution, while rare cases corrupt interrupt-vector-table data.
Summary
What happened
Unchecked allocation handling in GNU GRUB 2.12 and earlier allows local users to crash the boot loader or corrupt IVT data. grub_extcmd_dispatcher() fails to test whether grub_arg_list_alloc() returned NULL, so parse_option() dereferences the failed allocation. The path requires local high-privilege access and memory-allocation failure; successful triggering interrupts boot-loader execution, while rare cases corrupt interrupt-vector-table data.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-45775
- Published
- Feb 18, 2025
- Updated
- Jul 20, 2026
- Vendor
- The GnuPG Project
- Product
- GNU GRUB
- Classifications
- CWE-252, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- admin
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Feb 18, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jul 20, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=0 <=2.12
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Public exploit references
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Technologies
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Your stack
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