CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2024-39291NVD status: Analyzed

Linux: Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2024-39291 is a high-severity buffer copy without checking size of input vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 19bd9537b6bc1c882df25206c15917214d8e9460, f1b6a016dfa45cedc080d36fa5d6f22237d80e8b, acce6479e30f73ab0872e93a75aed1fb791d04ec as the first without the flaw, so updating Linux to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.24% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update Linux to 19bd9537b6bc1c882df25206c15917214d8e9460 or f1b6a016dfa45cedc080d36fa5d6f22237d80e8b or acce6479e30f73ab0872e93a75aed1fb791d04ec, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 6.6.33 or 6.9.4, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinux86301129698be52f8398f92ea8564168f6bfcae1 up to, but not including, 19bd9537b6bc1c882df25206c15917214d8e9460; 86301129698be52f8398f92ea8564168f6bfcae1 up to, but not including, f1b6a016dfa45cedc080d36fa5d6f22237d80e8b; 86301129698be52f8398f92ea8564168f6bfcae1 up to, but not including, acce6479e30f73ab0872e93a75aed1fb791d04ec; 6.519bd9537b6bc1c882df25206c15917214d8e9460, f1b6a016dfa45cedc080d36fa5d6f22237d80e8b, acce6479e30f73ab0872e93a75aed1fb791d04ec
LinuxLinux Kernel6.5 up to, but not including, 6.6.33; 6.7 up to, but not including, 6.9.4; 6.106.6.33, 6.9.4

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/amdgpu: Fix buffer size in gfx_v9_4_3_init_ cp_compute_microcode() and rlc_microcode() The function gfx_v9_4_3_init_microcode in gfx_v9_4_3.c was generating about potential truncation of output when using the snprintf function. The issue was due to the size of the buffer 'ucode_prefix' being too small to accommodate the maximum possible length of the string being written into it. The string being written is "amdgpu/%s_mec.bin" or "amdgpu/%s_rlc.bin", where %s is replaced by the value of 'chip_name'. The length of this string without the %s is 16 characters. The warning message indicated that 'chip_name' could be up to 29 characters long, resulting in a total of 45 characters, which exceeds the buffer size of 30 characters. To resolve this issue, the size of the 'ucode_prefix' buffer has been reduced from 30 to 15. This ensures that the maximum possible length of the string being written into the buffer will not exceed its size, thus preventing potential buffer overflow and truncation issues. Fixes the below with gcc W=1: drivers/gpu/drm/amd/amdgpu/gfx_v9_4_3.c: In function ‘gfx_v9_4_3_early_init’: drivers/gpu/drm/amd/amdgpu/gfx_v9_4_3.c:379:52: warning: ‘%s’ directive output may be truncated writing up to 29 bytes into a region of size 23 [-Wformat-truncation=] 379 | snprintf(fw_name, sizeof(fw_name), "amdgpu/%s_rlc.bin", chip_name); | ^~ ...... 439 | r = gfx_v9_4_3_init_rlc_microcode(adev, ucode_prefix); | ~~~~~~~~~~~~ drivers/gpu/drm/amd/amdgpu/gfx_v9_4_3.c:379:9: note: ‘snprintf’ output between 16 and 45 bytes into a destination of size 30 379 | snprintf(fw_name, sizeof(fw_name), "amdgpu/%s_rlc.bin", chip_name); | ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ drivers/gpu/drm/amd/amdgpu/gfx_v9_4_3.c:413:52: warning: ‘%s’ directive output may be truncated writing up to 29 bytes into a region of size 23 [-Wformat-truncation=] 413 | snprintf(fw_name, sizeof(fw_name), "amdgpu/%s_mec.bin", chip_name); | ^~ ...... 443 | r = gfx_v9_4_3_init_cp_compute_microcode(adev, ucode_prefix); | ~~~~~~~~~~~~ drivers/gpu/drm/amd/amdgpu/gfx_v9_4_3.c:413:9: note: ‘snprintf’ output between 16 and 45 bytes into a destination of size 30 413 | snprintf(fw_name, sizeof(fw_name), "amdgpu/%s_mec.bin", chip_name); | ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input

The product copies an input buffer to an output buffer without verifying that the size of the input buffer is less than the size of the output buffer.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, many languages that perform their own memory management, such as Java and Perl, are not subject to buffer overflows. Other languages, such as Ada and C#, typically provide overflow protection, but the protection can be disabled by the programmer. Be wary that a language's interface to native code may still be subject to overflows, even if the language itself is theoretically safe.
  • Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. Examples include the Safe C String Library (SafeStr) by Messier and Viega, and the Strsafe.h library from Microsoft. These libraries provide safer versions of overflow-prone string-handling functions.
  • Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index checking. D3-SFCV (Stack Frame Canary Validation) from D3FEND discusses canary-based detection in detail.

More Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input vulnerabilities (CWE-120)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: partial).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input vulnerabilities

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