CVE-2024-57254

High

Published: 18 February 2025

Published

18 February 2025

Modified

03 November 2025

KEV Added

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Patch

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CVSS Score 7.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS Score 0.0006 19.0th percentile

Risk Priority 14 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

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 Replication Through Removable Media (T1091); ranked at the 19.0th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 PE-3 (Physical Access Control) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).

Threat & Defense at a Glance

What attackers do: exploitation maps to Replication Through Removable Media (T1091) and 1 other technique. What defenders deploy: see the NIST 800-53 controls recommended below.

Threat & Defense Details

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI

SI-2 Flaw Remediation good match

prevent

Directly requires timely remediation of the integer overflow flaw in U-Boot by applying the fixing patch from version 2025.01-rc1 or later.

PE-3 Physical Access Control good match

prevent

Prevents physical access (AV:P) required by an attacker to supply the crafted SquashFS filesystem image to trigger the symlink size calculation overflow.

SI-10 Information Input Validation partial match

prevent

Mitigates the integer overflow in symlink size calculation by enforcing validation of SquashFS inputs to reject malformed data.

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1091 Replication Through Removable Media Lateral Movement

Adversaries may move onto systems, possibly those on disconnected or air-gapped networks, by copying malware to removable media and taking advantage of Autorun features when the media is inserted into a system and executes.

attack.mitre.org →

T1200 Hardware Additions Initial Access

Adversaries may physically introduce computer accessories, networking hardware, or other computing devices into a system or network that can be used as a vector to gain access.

attack.mitre.org →

Why these techniques?

Physical access vector with crafted SquashFS image on removable media enables initial access via hardware/removable media delivery leading to code execution in bootloader.

Confidence: MEDIUM · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v18.1

NVD Description

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.

Deeper analysisAI

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.