CVE-2024-41019 – A memory safety vulnerability in the Linux kern... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2024-41019?

CVE-2024-41019 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (MEDIUM). A memory safety vulnerability in the Linux kernel's NTFS3 filesystem driver allows out-of-bounds read access when processing malformed NTFS filesystem structures. This affects systems using the NTFS3 driver to mount NTFS partitions, potentially allowing local attackers to read kernel memory or cause denial of service.

📋 TL;DR

A memory safety vulnerability in the Linux kernel's NTFS3 filesystem driver allows out-of-bounds read access when processing malformed NTFS filesystem structures. This affects systems using the NTFS3 driver to mount NTFS partitions, potentially allowing local attackers to read kernel memory or cause denial of service.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Linux kernel with NTFS3 driver

Versions: Linux kernel versions with NTFS3 driver before the fix commits (specific versions vary by distribution)

Operating Systems: Linux distributions using affected kernel versions

Default Config Vulnerable: ✅ No

Notes: Only vulnerable when NTFS3 driver is loaded and NTFS partitions are mounted. Many systems may not use NTFS3 by default.

📦 What is this software?

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

Local attacker reads sensitive kernel memory, potentially exposing credentials, encryption keys, or other privileged information, leading to privilege escalation or system compromise.

🟠

Likely Case

Local attacker causes kernel panic or system crash resulting in denial of service, or reads limited kernel memory without achieving privilege escalation.

🟢

If Mitigated

Impact limited to denial of service on affected systems with proper access controls preventing unprivileged users from mounting NTFS filesystems.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - This is a local filesystem driver vulnerability requiring local access to mount or access NTFS partitions.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Internal users with local access could exploit this to cause system instability or potentially read kernel memory.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Requires local access and ability to mount or access specially crafted NTFS filesystems. No public exploits known at this time.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Kernel versions containing commits 35652dfa8cc9a8a900ec0f1e0395781f94ffc5f0 or later

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/35652dfa8cc9a8a900ec0f1e0395781f94ffc5f0

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to patched version from your distribution's repositories. 2. Reboot system to load new kernel. 3. Verify kernel version after reboot.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable NTFS3 module

linux

Prevent loading of vulnerable NTFS3 driver

echo 'blacklist ntfs3' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-ntfs3.conf
rmmod ntfs3

Use alternative NTFS driver

linux

Use NTFS-3G userspace driver instead of kernel NTFS3

apt-get install ntfs-3g
mount -t ntfs-3g /dev/sdX /mnt/ntfs

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Restrict local user access to prevent mounting of NTFS filesystems
Implement strict access controls on /dev devices and mount operations

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check if NTFS3 module is loaded: lsmod | grep ntfs3. Check kernel version against distribution security advisories.

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify kernel version is patched: uname -r. Check that NTFS3 module version matches patched kernel.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Kernel oops messages
System crashes when mounting NTFS
dmesg errors related to NTFS3 or memory access

Network Indicators:

None - local vulnerability only

SIEM Query:

EventID: Kernel panic OR dmesg contains 'ntfs3' AND 'BUG' OR 'Oops'

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2024-41019

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-125

Published: July 29, 2024

Last Updated: November 3, 2025

🔗 References

📤 Share & Export

📄 Export Markdown 📋 Export JSON

🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

If you're affected by CVE-2024-41019, you might also want to check these: