# CVE-2024-26982: Squashfs: check the inode number is not the invalid value of zero

> A missing check for invalid inode numbers in the Linux kernel's Squashfs driver allows out-of-bounds memory access, potentially causing crashes or data leaks.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 1 May 2024
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-57731, BELL-CVE-2024-26982, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-26982, GHSA-8jh7-gcv4-cq6q, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-26982

## What is CVE-2024-26982?

CVE-2024-26982 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 May 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

Squashfs: check the inode number is not the invalid value of zero

Syskiller has produced an out of bounds access in fill_meta_index().

That out of bounds access is ultimately caused because the inode
has an inode number with the invalid value of zero, which was not checked.

The reason this causes the out of bounds access is due to following
sequence of events:

1. Fill_meta_index() is called to allocate (via empty_meta_index())
   and fill a metadata index.  It however suffers a data read error
   and aborts, invalidating the newly returned empty metadata index.
   It does this by setting the inode number of the index to zero,
   which means unused (zero is not a valid inode number).

2. When fill_meta_index() is subsequently called again on another
   read operation, locate_meta_index() returns the previous index
   because it matches the inode number of 0.  Because this index
   has been returned it is expected to have been filled, and because
   it hasn't been, an out of bounds access is performed.

This patch adds a sanity check which checks that the inode number
is not zero when the inode is created and returns -EINVAL if it is.

[phillip@squashfs.org.uk: whitespace fix]

Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-26982?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-26982?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-26982 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-26982 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2024-26982 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-26982 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 May 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-26982 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-26982/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-26982/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-26982
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-26982
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-26982

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-26982/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.