# CVE-2024-33601: nscd: netgroup cache may terminate daemon on memory allocation failure

> An attacker can cause the nscd daemon to crash via memory allocation failure in the netgroup cache, leading to denial of service for clients.

- **Severity:** High 7.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 6 May 2024
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-40282, AZL-40316, BELL-CVE-2024-33601, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-33601, GHSA-f4cf-2w52-c853, MINI-28rp-48v4-qhpm, MINI-494v-856q-w73w, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-33601

## What is CVE-2024-33601?

CVE-2024-33601 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 6 May 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

nscd: netgroup cache may terminate daemon on memory allocation failure

The Name Service Cache Daemon's (nscd) netgroup cache uses xmalloc or
xrealloc and these functions may terminate the process due to a memory
allocation failure resulting in a denial of service to the clients.  The
flaw was introduced in glibc 2.15 when the cache was added to nscd.

This vulnerability is only present in the nscd binary.

Weakness: CWE-617 (Reachable Assertion)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-33601?

It affects 11 products.


Products: Debian Debian Linux, Gnu Glibc, Netapp H300s Firmware, Netapp H410c Firmware, Netapp H410s Firmware, Netapp H500s Firmware, Netapp H610c Firmware, Netapp H610s Firmware, Netapp H615c Firmware, Netapp H700s Firmware, Netapp Hci Bootstrap Os.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-33601?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-33601 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-33601 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

- [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-49113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49113/): RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2024-33601 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-33601 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 6 May 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-33601 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Debian Debian Linux. 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-2024-33601/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-33601/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-33601
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-33601
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-33601

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-33601/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.