CVE-2024-57953
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes an integer overflow vulnerability in the Linux kernel's TPS6594 RTC driver on 32-bit systems. When setting RTC offset values, multiplication can overflow a 32-bit signed integer, potentially causing incorrect time calculations or system instability. Systems running 32-bit Linux kernels with TPS6594 hardware are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Linux kernel with TPS6594 RTC driver
📦 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 →⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Integer overflow could lead to incorrect RTC time calculations, system time corruption, or kernel panic/crash affecting system availability.
Likely Case
Incorrect time calculations in RTC subsystem, potentially affecting time-sensitive applications or causing minor system instability.
If Mitigated
Limited impact to RTC functionality only, with no privilege escalation or remote code execution.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires local access to trigger the vulnerable RTC offset setting functionality.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Linux kernel with fixes from stable commits listed in references
Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/09c4a610153286cef54d4f0c85398f4e32fc227e
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update Linux kernel to version containing fixes. 2. Reboot system to load new kernel. 3. Verify kernel version after reboot.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable TPS6594 RTC driver
linuxBlacklist or disable the vulnerable driver module
echo 'blacklist rtc-tps6594' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
rmmod rtc_tps6594
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict access to RTC device interface to privileged users only
- Monitor system logs for RTC-related errors or kernel panics
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if system has TPS6594 hardware and is running 32-bit kernel: 'uname -m' returns i686 or i386, and 'lsmod | grep tps6594' shows module loadedCheck Version:
uname -rVerify Fix Applied:
Check kernel version includes fixes: 'uname -r' should be newer than vulnerable versions, verify commit hash in kernel source📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Kernel logs showing RTC errors
- System time inconsistencies
- Kernel panic messages related to RTC
Network Indicators:
- None - local vulnerability only
SIEM Query:
source="kernel" AND ("rtc" OR "tps6594") AND ("error" OR "panic" OR "overflow")