# CVE-2024-38616: wifi: carl9170: re-fix fortified-memset warning

> A fortified-memset warning in the carl9170 Wi-Fi driver can lead to a build failure or potential memory corruption issues, requiring a kernel patch.

- **Severity:** High 8.2 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 19 Jun 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-38616, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-38616, GHSA-3wf5-cgv3-f3xm, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-38616

## What is CVE-2024-38616?

CVE-2024-38616 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jun 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

wifi: carl9170: re-fix fortified-memset warning

The carl9170_tx_release() function sometimes triggers a fortified-memset
warning in my randconfig builds:

In file included from include/linux/string.h:254,
                 from drivers/net/wireless/ath/carl9170/tx.c:40:
In function 'fortify_memset_chk',
    inlined from 'carl9170_tx_release' at drivers/net/wireless/ath/carl9170/tx.c:283:2,
    inlined from 'kref_put' at include/linux/kref.h:65:3,
    inlined from 'carl9170_tx_put_skb' at drivers/net/wireless/ath/carl9170/tx.c:342:9:
include/linux/fortify-string.h:493:25: error: call to '__write_overflow_field' declared with attribute warning: detected write beyond size of field (1st parameter); maybe use struct_group()? [-Werror=attribute-warning]
  493 |                         __write_overflow_field(p_size_field, size);

Kees previously tried to avoid this by using memset_after(), but it seems
this does not fully address the problem. I noticed that the memset_after()
here is done on a different part of the union (status) than the original
cast was from (rate_driver_data), which may confuse the compiler.

Unfortunately, the memset_after() trick does not work on driver_rates[]
because that is part of an anonymous struct, and I could not get
struct_group() to do this either. Using two separate memset() calls
on the two members does address the warning though.

Weakness: CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-38616?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-38616?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-38616 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-38616 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-2024-38616 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-38616 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jun 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-2024-38616 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-2024-38616/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-38616/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-38616
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-38616
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-38616

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-38616/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.