Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2024-44958 is a Linux kernel scheduler bug involving SMT state accounting during CPU offline handling. The public record shows a kernel warning from stress testing, not confirmed attacker exploitation. Business urgency is highest for systems that rely on affected Linux kernels and perform CPU hotplug, cpuset, or virtualization operations.
Executive priority
Schedule remediation through normal kernel patching unless local evidence shows scheduler warnings or critical hosts match affected versions. There is no source-backed evidence of active exploitation, but kernel defects can affect availability and should not be ignored.
Technical view
The flaw is an unbalanced decrement/increment of sched_smt_present in sched_cpu_deactivate(). If cpuset_cpu_inactive() fails, CPU offline fails after the SMT static key was decremented, causing a negative jump-label count warning. Kernel stable commits restore the increment on the error path.
Likely exposure
Exposure depends on running affected Linux kernel versions listed in the CVE record, including ranges around 5.15.165, 6.1.105, 6.6.46, 6.10.5, and 6.11. Confirm with distribution advisories because packaged kernel backports may differ from upstream version numbers.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing, public exploitation, exploit code, or attacker prerequisites. Evidence is limited to a stress-test warning and the upstream kernel fix. Treat this as a kernel stability issue unless vendor guidance states broader impact.
Researcher notes
Avoid overstating impact: the record does not provide CVSS, CWE, exploit status, or a demonstrated security outcome beyond the kernel warning. The key validation point is whether the kernel has the stable commit that rebalances sched_smt_present on sched_cpu_deactivate() failure.
Mitigation direction
- Check your distribution’s advisory for CVE-2024-44958 and affected kernel packages.
- Update to a kernel containing the referenced stable fixes or vendor backport.
- Prioritize hosts using CPU hotplug, cpuset changes, SMT, or dense virtualization workloads.
- Monitor kernel logs for related jump-label negative count warnings.
Validation and detection
- Inventory kernel versions and map them against vendor advisories for this CVE.
- Confirm the installed kernel includes the sched/smt error-path fix.
- Review dmesg or central logs for static_key_slow_try_dec warnings.
- Track Debian LTS and upstream Linux stable references for package-specific status.
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-2024-44958 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
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
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
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/2a3548c7ef2e135aee40e7e5e44e7d11b893e7c4CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2cf7665efe451e48d27953e6b5bc627d518c902bCVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/65727331b60197b742089855ac09464c22b96f66CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d0c87a3c6be10a57aa3463c32c3fc6b2a47c3dabCVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e22f910a26cc2a3ac9c66b8e935ef2a7dd881117CVE reference, Linux
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/01/msg00001.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.