# CVE-2024-38621: media: stk1160: fix bounds checking in stk1160_copy_video()

> A buffer overflow in the stk1160 video driver allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a system crash via crafted video data.

- **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:** 21 Jun 2024
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-38621, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-38621, GHSA-q3h4-pxwf-237f, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-38621

## What is CVE-2024-38621?

CVE-2024-38621 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 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:

media: stk1160: fix bounds checking in stk1160_copy_video()

The subtract in this condition is reversed.  The ->length is the length
of the buffer.  The ->bytesused is how many bytes we have copied thus
far.  When the condition is reversed that means the result of the
subtraction is always negative but since it's unsigned then the result
is a very high positive value.  That means the overflow check is never
true.

Additionally, the ->bytesused doesn't actually work for this purpose
because we're not writing to "buf->mem + buf->bytesused".  Instead, the
math to calculate the destination where we are writing is a bit
involved.  You calculate the number of full lines already written,
multiply by two, skip a line if necessary so that we start on an odd
numbered line, and add the offset into the line.

To fix this buffer overflow, just take the actual destination where we
are writing, if the offset is already out of bounds print an error and
return.  Otherwise, write up to buf->length bytes.

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-38621?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-38621?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-38621 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-38621 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-2024-38621 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-38621 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 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-2024-38621 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-2024-38621/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-38621/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-38621
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-38621
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-38621

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-38621/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.