CVE-2024-42131

MEDIUM
Published Jul 30, 2024 Modified Nov 3, 2025 CWE-190

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm: avoid overflows in dirty throttling logic The dirty throttling logic is interspersed with assumptions that dirty limits in PAGE_SIZE units fit into 32-bit (so that various multiplications fit into 64-bits). If limits end up being larger, we will hit overflows, possible divisions by 0 etc. Fix these problems by never allowing so large dirty limits as they have dubious practical value anyway. For dirty_bytes / dirty_background_bytes interfaces we can just refuse to set so large limits. For dirty_ratio / dirty_background_ratio it isn't so simple as the dirty limit is computed from the amount of available memory which can change due to memory hotplug etc. So when converting dirty limits from ratios to numbers of pages, we just don't allow the result to exceed UINT_MAX. This is root-only triggerable problem which occurs when the operator sets dirty limits to >16 TB.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

4.4
MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-190 Integer Overflow

Affected Products

Vendor Product
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel

References

Advisories & Patches

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2b2d2b8766db028bd827af34075f221ae9e9efff https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/385d838df280eba6c8680f9777bfa0d0bfe7e8b2 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4d3817b64eda07491bdd86a234629fe0764fb42a https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7a49389771ae7666f4dc3426e2a4594bf23ae290 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8e0b5e7f2895eccef5c2a0018b589266f90c4805 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a25e8536184516b55ef89ab91dd2eea429de28d2 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bd16a7ee339aef3ee4c90cb23902afb6af379ea0 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c83ed422c24f0d4b264f89291d4fabe285f80dbc https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/385d838df280eba6c8680f9777bfa0d0bfe7e8b2 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7a49389771ae7666f4dc3426e2a4594bf23ae290 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8e0b5e7f2895eccef5c2a0018b589266f90c4805 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a25e8536184516b55ef89ab91dd2eea429de28d2 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bd16a7ee339aef3ee4c90cb23902afb6af379ea0 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c83ed422c24f0d4b264f89291d4fabe285f80dbc

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-42131? +
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm: avoid overflows in dirty throttling logic The dirty throttling logic is interspersed with assumptions that dirty limits in PAGE_SIZE units fit into 32-bit (so that various multiplications fit into 64-bits). If limits end up being larger, we will hit overflows, possible divisions by 0 etc. Fix these problems by never allowing so large dirty limits as they have dubious practical value anyway. For dirty_bytes / dirty_background_bytes interfaces we can just refuse to set so large limits. For dirty_ratio / dirty_background_ratio it isn't so simple as the dirty limit is computed from the amount of available memory which can change due to memory hotplug etc. So when converting dirty limits from ratios to numbers of pages, we just don't allow the result to exceed UINT_MAX. This is root-only triggerable problem which occurs when the operator sets dirty limits to >16 TB. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.4 (MEDIUM).
How severe is CVE-2024-42131? +
CVE-2024-42131 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 4.4 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.
What products are affected by CVE-2024-42131? +
CVE-2024-42131 affects products from linux, specifically: linux_kernel. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.
How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2024-42131? +
You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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