Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-26988

Memory Safety in Linux Kernel 5.1 – 5.10.216

Published
01 May 2024
Modified
12 May 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0028 20th percentile
Risk Priority 55 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-26988 is a high-severity Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787) vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 20th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: init/main.c: Fix potential static_command_line memory overflow We allocate memory of size 'xlen + strlen(boot_command_line) + 1' for static_command_line, but the strings copied into static_command_line are extra_command_line and command_line, rather than…

more

extra_command_line and boot_command_line. When strlen(command_line) > strlen(boot_command_line), static_command_line will overflow. This patch just recovers strlen(command_line) which was miss-consolidated with strlen(boot_command_line) in the commit f5c7310ac73e ("init/main: add checks for the return value of memblock_alloc*()")

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
T1499 Endpoint Denial of Service Impact
Adversaries may perform Endpoint Denial of Service (DoS) attacks to degrade or block the availability of services to users.
Why these techniques?

Linux kernel buffer overflow in init/main.c during boot command line processing enables potential exploitation for privilege escalation (T1068) or denial of service via kernel crash (T1499) with crafted bootloader parameters.

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CVE-2024-27436Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2024-26965Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2024-26736Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-3090Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2025-38068Same product: Debian Debian Linux

Affected Assets

linux
linux kernel
6.9 · 5.1 — 5.10.216 · 5.11 — 5.15.157 · 5.16 — 6.1.88
debian
debian linux
10.0
fedoraproject
fedora
38, 39, 40

Mitigating Controls

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-787

Out-of-bounds writes that corrupt control flow or inject shellcode are rendered non-executable by the same memory protections.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure-development practices (static analysis, bounds checking, code review) are the primary means of preventing out-of-bounds writes.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover out-of-bounds write flaws so they can be remediated.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching or replacing vulnerable software directly eliminates known instances of this coding weakness.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

detects

Security testing in development and acceptance can detect and prevent out-of-bounds write defects.

prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates practices that prevent out-of-bounds writes.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify bounds-checking and safe memory handling.

prevents

Secure architecture and engineering principles reduce the likelihood of buffer overflows.

prevents

Secure coding directly addresses out-of-bounds writes through language choice and coding standards.

prevents

Change management can enforce review gates that catch unsafe memory operations before deployment.

References