Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2024-35878 is a Linux kernel flaw that can crash affected systems by triggering a NULL pointer dereference in Open Firmware module alias handling. The published impact is availability only: no confidentiality or integrity impact is reported.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate availability risk. It is not described as data theft or privilege escalation, but unauthenticated network reachability in the CVSS vector makes patch tracking important for exposed or critical Linux services.
Technical view
The flaw is in of_modalias(), where invalid str and len parameters can reach vsnprintf(). NULL with nonzero length can cause an oops, and negative ssize_t lengths can become very large size_t values in snprintf-style handling. Upstream stable commits add parameter filtering.
Likely exposure
Exposure depends on whether systems run affected Linux kernel versions or downstream vendor kernels containing the vulnerable Open Firmware module code. The bundle lists Linux kernel 6.4 and affected ranges ending around 6.6.26, 6.8.5, and 6.9, but distro backport status must be checked.
Exploitation context
The CVSS vector is network, low complexity, no privileges, and no user interaction, with low availability impact. The source bundle does not identify public exploitation, proof-of-concept activity, or CISA KEV listing.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE record and upstream Linux stable references. The root cause is improper validation around of_modalias() parameters before formatted output handling. Avoid assuming exploitability beyond the published CVSS and availability impact.
Mitigation direction
- Apply Linux kernel updates containing the referenced upstream stable commits.
- Check distribution advisories for backported fixes matching your kernel package.
- Prioritize internet-facing or availability-sensitive Linux systems first.
- If no vendor package is available, follow vendor guidance for supported kernel upgrade paths.
Validation and detection
- Inventory running kernel versions across Linux hosts.
- Compare installed kernel packages against vendor advisories for CVE-2024-35878.
- Confirm patched kernels include the relevant upstream stable fixes or backports.
- Review monitoring for unexplained kernel oops or crash events on affected systems.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-476: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2024-35878 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 5.3 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L3.91.4CISA-ADPVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.3MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e4a449368a2ce6d57a775d0ead27fc07f5a86e5bCVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/544561dc56f7e69a053c25e11e6170f48bb97898CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a1aa5390cc912934fee76ce80af5f940452fa987CVE reference, Linux
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
NULL Pointer Dereference
NULL Pointer Dereference represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.