CVE-2024-36957 – This CVE describes an off-by-one read vulnerabi... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2024-36957?

CVE-2024-36957 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (MEDIUM). This CVE describes an off-by-one read vulnerability in the Linux kernel's octeontx2-af driver. An attacker with local access could exploit this to read one byte beyond an allocated buffer from userspace, potentially leaking kernel memory. Systems using affected Linux kernel versions with the octeontx2-af driver enabled are vulnerable.

📋 TL;DR

This CVE describes an off-by-one read vulnerability in the Linux kernel's octeontx2-af driver. An attacker with local access could exploit this to read one byte beyond an allocated buffer from userspace, potentially leaking kernel memory. Systems using affected Linux kernel versions with the octeontx2-af driver enabled are vulnerable.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Linux kernel with octeontx2-af driver

Versions: Specific affected versions not explicitly stated in CVE description; check kernel commit history for exact ranges.

Operating Systems: Linux distributions using vulnerable kernel versions

Default Config Vulnerable: ✅ No

Notes: Only vulnerable if octeontx2-af driver is loaded/used (typically on systems with Marvell Octeon TX2 network processors).

📦 What is this software?

Debian Linux by Debian

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Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

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Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

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Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

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Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Kernel memory information disclosure leading to privilege escalation or system compromise if combined with other vulnerabilities.

🟠

Likely Case

Limited kernel memory leak of one byte, potentially exposing sensitive information but unlikely to directly lead to system takeover.

🟢

If Mitigated

No impact if proper access controls prevent local attackers from accessing the vulnerable interface.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - This is a local vulnerability requiring access to the system.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Local attackers or malicious users could exploit this to gather information about kernel memory.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Requires local access and ability to interact with the vulnerable driver interface. Exploitation would need to bypass kernel protections like KASLR.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Kernel versions containing commits 0a0285cee11c7dcc2657bcd456e469958a5009e7 or later

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0a0285cee11c7dcc2657bcd456e469958a5009e7

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to patched version. 2. Reboot system to load new kernel. 3. Verify octeontx2-af driver is using memdup_user_nul instead of memdup_user with count+1.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable octeontx2-af driver

linux

Prevent loading of vulnerable driver module if not required

echo 'blacklist octeontx2-af' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
rmmod octeontx2-af

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Restrict local user access to systems with vulnerable driver
Implement strict access controls and monitoring for systems using octeontx2-af driver

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check if octeontx2-af driver is loaded: lsmod | grep octeontx2-af. Check kernel version against patched versions.

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify kernel version is patched and driver is updated. Check driver source for use of memdup_user_nul instead of memdup_user with count+1.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Kernel oops messages
System crash logs
Unexpected driver behavior logs

Network Indicators:

None - local vulnerability only

SIEM Query:

Search for kernel panic logs or octeontx2-af driver error messages in system logs

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2024-36957

CVSS v3 Score: 5.5 (MEDIUM)

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

CWE: CWE-193

Published: May 30, 2024

Last Updated: December 23, 2025

🔗 References

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🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

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