CVE-2024-57945

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2024-57945?

CVE-2024-57945 has a CVSS score of 7.1 (HIGH). A memory management vulnerability in the Linux kernel's RISC-V architecture implementation allows out-of-bounds memory access when initializing virtual memory map structures. This affects Linux systems running on RISC-V hardware with specific memory configurations. The vulnerability could lead to kernel memory corruption or system instability.

7.1 HIGH

Denial of Service

📋 TL;DR

A memory management vulnerability in the Linux kernel's RISC-V architecture implementation allows out-of-bounds memory access when initializing virtual memory map structures. This affects Linux systems running on RISC-V hardware with specific memory configurations. The vulnerability could lead to kernel memory corruption or system instability.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Linux Kernel

Versions: Specific kernel versions with RISC-V support before the fix commits

Operating Systems: Linux distributions with RISC-V support (Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, etc.)

Default Config Vulnerable: ✅ No

Notes: Only affects systems with RISC-V architecture using sparse vmemmap model with specific physical memory alignment conditions.

📦 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 →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Kernel memory corruption leading to system crash, privilege escalation, or arbitrary code execution in kernel context.

🟠

Likely Case

System instability, kernel panics, or denial of service due to memory access violations.

🟢

If Mitigated

No impact if systems are not using affected RISC-V configurations or have proper memory isolation.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - This is a kernel-level vulnerability requiring local access or specific hardware configurations.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Could be exploited by local users or through other vulnerabilities to escalate privileges.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Requires local access and specific memory conditions. No known public exploits as of analysis.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Kernel versions containing commits 92f08673d3f1, a4a7ac3d2660, d2bd51954ac8, or f754f27e98f8

Vendor Advisory: https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/08/msg00010.html

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to patched version. 2. For Debian systems: apt update && apt upgrade linux-image-riscv64. 3. Reboot system to load new kernel.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable sparse vmemmap

riscv

Configure kernel to not use sparse vmemmap model (increases memory usage)

Add 'sparsemem=vmemmap' kernel boot parameter

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Restrict local user access to affected systems
Implement strict memory isolation and monitoring for RISC-V systems

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check kernel version and architecture: uname -r && uname -m. If riscv64 and kernel version before fixes, system may be vulnerable.

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify kernel version contains one of the fix commits: grep -q '92f08673d3f1\|a4a7ac3d2660\|d2bd51954ac8\|f754f27e98f8' /proc/version

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Kernel oops messages
Memory access violation logs
System crash dumps

Network Indicators:

None - local vulnerability only

SIEM Query:

source="kernel" AND ("vmemmap" OR "out of bounds" OR "kernel panic")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2024-57945

CVSS v3 Score: 7.1 (HIGH)

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

CWE: CWE-125

EPSS Score: 0.04% exploit probability (11th percentile)

Published: January 21, 2025

Last Updated: November 3, 2025

📋 TL;DR

💻 Affected Systems

📦 What is this software?

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

Worst Case

Likely Case

If Mitigated

🎯 Exploit Status

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Instructions:

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable sparse vmemmap

🧯 If You Can't Patch

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Version:

Verify Fix Applied:

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Network Indicators:

SIEM Query:

📊 Metadata

🔗 References

📤 Share & Export

🔗 Related Vulnerabilities