Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a Linux kernel RDMA/rxe bug that can crash under a rare timing race. It matters most for systems using software RDMA/RoCE at scale. The public sources describe infrequent testing crashes, not active exploitation or a remote wormable issue.
Executive priority
Treat as a targeted infrastructure maintenance issue, not an emergency internet-wide incident. Prioritize kernel patching where RDMA/rxe is enabled, especially high-throughput or multi-tenant systems where crashes would affect availability.
Technical view
In rxe_comp_queue_pkt(), an skb is queued before a hardware counter is updated. A concurrently running completer may process and free that skb first, leaving a stale dereference and possible segfault. CVSS is 6.3: local access, high attack complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, with integrity and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to Linux systems with the RXE software RDMA driver or related RDMA workloads enabled. General Linux servers without RDMA/rxe use appear lower risk, but exact exposure depends on kernel version, distro backports, and enabled modules.
Exploitation context
The CVE is not in KEV, and the supplied sources do not report active exploitation. The vulnerability requires local access and a high-complexity race. The kernel report says the crash was observed infrequently during high-scale testing.
Researcher notes
The root issue is ordering around resp_pkts enqueue and later skb dereference for a performance counter. The public description supports a race leading to stale skb access. Sources do not provide exploit details, confirmed privilege escalation, or broad affected distro mappings.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Linux hosts using RDMA/rxe or software RoCE functionality.
- Update kernels to vendor releases containing the listed stable fixes.
- For Debian LTS, apply the relevant kernel update from the cited advisory.
- If patching is delayed, review vendor guidance on disabling unused RDMA/rxe capability.
- Prioritize shared compute, HPC, storage, and virtualization hosts using RDMA workloads.
Validation and detection
- Check running kernel versions against vendor advisories and the CVE affected ranges.
- Confirm whether the rxe/RDMA modules are loaded or configured on each host.
- Verify patched kernel packages are installed and active after reboot.
- Review kernel logs for RDMA/rxe crashes or segfaults under high-scale workloads.
- Confirm Debian LTS systems include the cited security update where applicable.
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.
CVE-2024-38544 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
- 6.3 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
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:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H15.2CISA-ADPVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.3MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
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/c91fb72a2ca6480d8d77262eef52dc5b178463a3CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/de5a059e36657442b5637cc16df5163e435b9cb4CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e0e14dd35d4242340c7346aac60c7ff8fbf87ffcCVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/faa8d0ecf6c9c7c2ace3ca3e552180ada6f75e19CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/21b4c6d4d89030fd4657a8e7c8110fd941049794CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bbad88f111a1829f366c189aa48e7e58e57553fcCVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/30df4bef8b8e183333e9b6e9d4509d552c7da6ebCVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2b23b6097303ed0ba5f4bc036a1c07b6027af5c6CVE reference, Linux
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/03/msg00002.htmlCVE reference, CVE
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.