Linux Kernel up to 6.8 firewire packet_buffer_get user_length buffer overflow

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.8 and classified as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function packet_buffer_get of the component firewire. The manipulation of the argument user_length leads to buffer overflow. This vulnerability is referenced as CVE-2024-27401. The attack can only be performed from a local environment. No exploit is available. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.8. This issue affects the function packet_buffer_get of the component firewire. The manipulation of the argument user_length with an unknown input leads to a buffer overflow vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-120. The product copies an input buffer to an output buffer without verifying that the size of the input buffer is less than the size of the output buffer, leading to a buffer overflow. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: firewire: nosy: ensure user_length is taken into account when fetching packet contents Ensure that packet_buffer_get respects the user_length provided. If the length of the head packet exceeds the user_length, packet_buffer_get will now return 0 to signify to the user that no data were read and a larger buffer size is required. Helps prevent user space overflows.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2024-27401 since 02/25/2024. The exploitation is known to be easy. An attack has to be approached locally. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 01/22/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 238008 (NewStart CGSL MAIN 7.02 : kernel Multiple Vulnerabilities (NS-SA-2025-0084)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.9.0 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 38762a0763c1 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at Tenable (238008). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.0
• 6.1
• 6.2
• 6.3
• 6.4
• 6.5
• 6.6
• 6.7
• 6.8

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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