Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-57254

Memory Safety in Denx U-Boot ≤ 2024.10

Published
18 February 2025
Modified
03 November 2025
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0036 29th percentile
Risk Priority 51 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-57254 is a high-severity Integer Overflow or Wraparound (CWE-190) vulnerability in Denx U-Boot. Its CVSS base score is 7.1 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 29th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-8 (Security and Privacy Engineering Principles) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2024-57254 is an integer overflow vulnerability (CWE-190) in the sqfs_inode_size function within Das U-Boot versions prior to 2025.01-rc1. The issue arises during symlink size calculation when processing a crafted SquashFS filesystem, potentially leading to incorrect memory handling. It carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.1 (AV:P/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating high impact across confidentiality, integrity, and availability with a changed scope.

An attacker with physical access to the target device could exploit this vulnerability by providing a specially crafted SquashFS filesystem image. The high attack complexity (AC:H) suggests it requires sophisticated preparation, but no privileges (PR:N) or user interaction (UI:N) are needed. Successful exploitation could result in high-impact consequences, including potential arbitrary code execution, data corruption, or denial of service due to the integer overflow.

Mitigation involves updating to Das U-Boot 2025.01-rc1 or later, as evidenced by the fixing commit c8e929e5758999933f9e905049ef2bf3fe6b140d in the U-Boot repository. Security advisories, including the oss-security mailing list announcement from February 17, 2025, and Debian LTS tracking from May 2025, recommend applying this patch to affected systems.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

An integer overflow in sqfs_inode_size in Das U-Boot before 2025.01-rc1 occurs in the symlink size calculation via a crafted squashfs filesystem.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-57258Same product: Denx U-Boot
CVE-2024-57255Same product: Denx U-Boot
CVE-2024-57256Same product: Denx U-Boot
CVE-2024-42040Same product: Denx U-Boot
CVE-2026-29009Same product: Denx U-Boot
CVE-2024-57259Same product: Denx U-Boot
CVE-2026-29008Same product: Denx U-Boot
CVE-2026-29007Same product: Denx U-Boot
CVE-2025-45512Same product: Denx U-Boot
CVE-2024-57257Same product: Denx U-Boot

Affected Assets

denx
u-boot
≤ 2024.10

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.2.6

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and evaluation (static analysis, fuzzing, unit tests) directly finds integer overflow defects before deployment.

Secure engineering principles require use of safe arithmetic constructs or language features that structurally eliminate integer overflow during calculation.

Input validation enforces bounds on values before arithmetic, stopping the conditions that trigger overflow or wraparound.

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 SDLC practices directly require use of safe arithmetic, bounds checks, and testing that prevent integer overflows.

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.

finds

Security testing in development can detect integer overflows before release.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates input validation and arithmetic checks that prevent integer overflows.

degrades

Application security requirements include bounds checking and safe arithmetic to avoid overflow conditions.

degrades

Secure architecture principles require defensive coding patterns that mitigate integer wraparound risks.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe integer operations and mandate overflow-safe constructs.

References