Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2024-57943 is a high-severity Access of Uninitialized Pointer (CWE-824) 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 9th 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-15 (Development Process, Standards, and Tools) — 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-2024-57943 is a vulnerability in the Linux kernel's exFAT filesystem implementation. It occurs because new buffer_heads are not zeroed before writing, allowing uninitialized data from the page cache to be written to disk. This issue, classified under CWE-824, has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating high severity due to potential impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
A local attacker with low privileges can exploit this vulnerability with low attack complexity and no user interaction required. Successful exploitation could allow the attacker to leak sensitive uninitialized data or corrupt filesystem structures, leading to high-impact outcomes such as unauthorized data disclosure, modification of files, or denial of service.
Mitigation is provided through kernel patches available in the referenced commits: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/942c6f91ab8d82a41650e717940b4e577173762f and https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/98e2fb26d1a9eafe79f46d15d54e68e014d81d8c. These commits implement folio_zero_new_buffers() to zero new buffers before the ->write_end() callback, resolving the issue. Security practitioners should ensure affected Linux kernels are updated to include these fixes.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2024-53846
Vulnerability Data
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: exfat: fix the new buffer was not zeroed before writing Before writing, if a buffer_head marked as new, its data must be zeroed, otherwise uninitialized data in the page cache…
more
will be written. So this commit uses folio_zero_new_buffers() to zero the new buffers before ->write_end().
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and evaluation can discover uninitialized pointer accesses through static analysis, dynamic testing, or fuzzing before deployment.
Requiring documented development processes and tools enables use of analyzers or coding standards that identify uninitialized pointer defects.
Security engineering principles can mandate memory-safety practices and language choices that structurally avoid uninitialized pointer use.
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.
Secure SDLC practices directly prevent uninitialized pointer bugs via coding standards, analysis, and reviews, but eliminating this single weakness only partially fulfills the broader control.
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.
Security testing can detect uninitialized pointer usage before release.
Secure development life cycle mandates practices that reduce uninitialized pointer defects.
Application security requirements can specify pointer initialization rules.
Secure architecture principles discourage unsafe pointer handling.
Secure coding standards directly prohibit use of uninitialized pointers.