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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2024-50164: Linux kernel · bpf: Fix overloading of MEM_UNINIT's meaning

Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High.

Data as of 10 Nov 2026, 14:17 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
7.8High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

Thin evidence

One scorer or none
CVSS scores by source
CNA (Linux)CVSS 3.17.8
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 7 Nov 2024

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponized: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 10 Nov 2026.

What to do

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
Linux LinuxAffected
  • =5.15.45
  • =5.17.13
  • =5.18.2
Fixed in–

AI-suggested

A fix is available for this vulnerability in Linux kernel versions 5.15.45, 5.17.13, and 5.18.2. Users and administrators should apply these kernel updates to remediate the issue. No alternative mitigations are indicated in the advisory.

Description

CVE-2024-50164 is a high-severity vulnerability in the Linux kernel's BPF verifier related to improper handling of memory initialization flags. The flaw allows a BPF program to write to read-only maps by exploiting an overloaded meaning of the MEM_UNINIT flag, bypassing write checks in the verifier. The issue arises because MEM_UNINIT was used both to indicate uninitialized memory and memory being written to, causing the verifier to skip necessary write validations. The fix reverts MEM_UNINIT to its original meaning and introduces MEM_WRITE annotations to enforce proper write checks.

References

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