# CVE-2024-35803: x86/efistub: Call mixed mode boot services on the firmware's stack

> A stack overflow in the Linux kernel EFI stub during mixed mode boot can corrupt memory, potentially allowing local attackers to execute code or escalate privileges.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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:** 17 May 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-35803, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-35803, GHSA-w77r-vc72-rx49, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2024-35803, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2024-35803, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-35803

## What is CVE-2024-35803?

CVE-2024-35803 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 17 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:

x86/efistub: Call mixed mode boot services on the firmware's stack

Normally, the EFI stub calls into the EFI boot services using the stack
that was live when the stub was entered. According to the UEFI spec,
this stack needs to be at least 128k in size - this might seem large but
all asynchronous processing and event handling in EFI runs from the same
stack and so quite a lot of space may be used in practice.

In mixed mode, the situation is a bit different: the bootloader calls
the 32-bit EFI stub entry point, which calls the decompressor's 32-bit
entry point, where the boot stack is set up, using a fixed allocation
of 16k. This stack is still in use when the EFI stub is started in
64-bit mode, and so all calls back into the EFI firmware will be using
the decompressor's limited boot stack.

Due to the placement of the boot stack right after the boot heap, any
stack overruns have gone unnoticed. However, commit

  5c4feadb0011983b ("x86/decompressor: Move global symbol references to C code")

moved the definition of the boot heap into C code, and now the boot
stack is placed right at the base of BSS, where any overruns will
corrupt the end of the .data section.

While it would be possible to work around this by increasing the size of
the boot stack, doing so would affect all x86 systems, and mixed mode
systems are a tiny (and shrinking) fraction of the x86 installed base.

So instead, record the firmware stack pointer value when entering from
the 32-bit firmware, and switch to this stack every time a EFI boot
service call is made.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-35803?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-35803?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-35803 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-35803 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-2024-35803 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-35803 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 17 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-2024-35803 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-2024-35803/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-35803/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-35803
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-35803
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-35803

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-35803/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.