# CVE-2024-38576: rcu: Fix buffer overflow in print_cpu_stall_info()

> A buffer overflow in the Linux kernel's RCU stall reporting can cause a crash when large time differences occur, requiring a kernel patch.

- **Severity:** High 7.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 19 Jun 2024
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-38576, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-38576, GHSA-xwrr-9h7c-8mxc, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-38576

## What is CVE-2024-38576?

CVE-2024-38576 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jun 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:

rcu: Fix buffer overflow in print_cpu_stall_info()

The rcuc-starvation output from print_cpu_stall_info() might overflow the
buffer if there is a huge difference in jiffies difference.  The situation
might seem improbable, but computers sometimes get very confused about
time, which can result in full-sized integers, and, in this case,
buffer overflow.

Also, the unsigned jiffies difference is printed using %ld, which is
normally for signed integers.  This is intentional for debugging purposes,
but it is not obvious from the code.

This commit therefore changes sprintf() to snprintf() and adds a
clarifying comment about intention of %ld format.

Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with SVACE.

Weakness: CWE-120 (Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-38576?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-38576?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-38576 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-38576 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-2024-38576 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-38576 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jun 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-2024-38576 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-2024-38576/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-38576/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-38576
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-38576
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-38576

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-38576/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.