CVE-2024-50290 in Linux
Summary
by MITRE • 11/19/2024
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
media: cx24116: prevent overflows on SNR calculus
as reported by Coverity, if reading SNR registers fail, a negative number will be returned, causing an underflow when reading SNR registers.
Prevent that.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/02/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-50290 affects the Linux kernel's media subsystem, specifically within the cx24116 driver that handles digital television reception hardware. This issue resides in the signal-to-noise ratio calculation logic where the driver fails to properly handle register read failures, creating a potential for integer underflow conditions that could lead to system instability or security implications.
The technical flaw manifests when the cx24116 driver attempts to read signal-to-noise ratio registers from hardware components. According to Coverity analysis, when these register reads fail, the driver returns negative values that subsequently cause underflow conditions during SNR calculations. This represents a classic buffer overflow vulnerability pattern where improper input validation leads to mathematical operations that exceed the bounds of expected data types. The vulnerability stems from inadequate error handling in the hardware communication layer, where the driver does not properly validate the return values from register read operations before performing subsequent mathematical computations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple calculation errors as it could potentially enable privilege escalation or denial of service conditions within media processing applications. When underflow occurs during SNR calculations, the driver may attempt to access invalid memory locations or manipulate data structures in unexpected ways, potentially allowing malicious actors to exploit the system through carefully crafted media input or by manipulating hardware states. The vulnerability affects systems utilizing cx24116-based digital television receivers and could impact devices ranging from set-top boxes to embedded media processing systems.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing proper error handling mechanisms within the driver's register read operations, ensuring that negative return values are properly validated and rejected before proceeding with SNR calculations. System administrators should prioritize applying kernel updates that include the patched driver code, which typically implements bounds checking and proper error state management. The fix aligns with common security practices outlined in the CWE (Common Weakness Enumeration) catalog under weakness category 191, which deals with integer overflow and underflow conditions, and follows ATT&CK framework techniques related to privilege escalation through kernel vulnerabilities. Additionally, implementing runtime monitoring for abnormal SNR calculation patterns and establishing proper input validation for hardware register reads can provide additional layers of protection against exploitation of similar vulnerabilities in the media subsystem.