Local kernel crash via unterminated debugfs input
Published Nov 9, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026
Out-of-bounds read in Linux netdevsim allows local users to crash the kernel through crafted input to a writable debugfs control. The nsim_nexthop_bucket_activity_write() handler copies a full user buffer without appending a NUL byte, then passes it to sscanf(), which reads beyond the allocation while seeking a terminator. Exploitation requires local write access to netdevsim's bucket-activity control; the documented impact is a kernel crash, with no confidentiality or integrity impact.
Summary
What happened
Out-of-bounds read in Linux netdevsim allows local users to crash the kernel through crafted input to a writable debugfs control. The nsim_nexthop_bucket_activity_write() handler copies a full user buffer without appending a NUL byte, then passes it to sscanf(), which reads beyond the allocation while seeking a terminator. Exploitation requires local write access to netdevsim's bucket-activity control; the documented impact is a kernel crash, with no confidentiality or integrity impact.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-50259
- Published
- Nov 9, 2024
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-125, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Nov 9, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- 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.
- Affected versionversion=5.13
- Affected versionversion=c6385c0b67c527b298111775bc89a7407ba1581e <27bd7a742e171362c9eb52ad5d1d71d3321f949f
- Affected versionversion=c6385c0b67c527b298111775bc89a7407ba1581e <4ce1f56a1eaced2523329bef800d004e30f2f76c
- Affected versionversion=c6385c0b67c527b298111775bc89a7407ba1581e <6a604877160fe5ab2e1985d5ce1ba6a61abe0693
- Affected versionversion=c6385c0b67c527b298111775bc89a7407ba1581e <bcba86e03b3aac361ea671672cf48eed11f9011c
- Affected versionversion=c6385c0b67c527b298111775bc89a7407ba1581e <c2150f666c6fc301d5d1643ed0f92251f1a0ff0d
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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.
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
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo