# CVE-2024-41088: can: mcp251xfd: fix infinite loop when xmit fails

> A flaw in the Linux kernel MCP251XFD CAN driver causes an infinite loop during transmission failures, leading to a denial of service.

- **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:** 29 Jul 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-47983, BELL-CVE-2024-41088, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-41088, GHSA-jh57-6wf8-c6gg, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2024-41088, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2024-41088, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-41088

## What is CVE-2024-41088?

CVE-2024-41088 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 29 Jul 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:

can: mcp251xfd: fix infinite loop when xmit fails

When the mcp251xfd_start_xmit() function fails, the driver stops
processing messages, and the interrupt routine does not return,
running indefinitely even after killing the running application.

Error messages:
[  441.298819] mcp251xfd spi2.0 can0: ERROR in mcp251xfd_start_xmit: -16
[  441.306498] mcp251xfd spi2.0 can0: Transmit Event FIFO buffer not empty. (seq=0x000017c7, tef_tail=0x000017cf, tef_head=0x000017d0, tx_head=0x000017d3).
... and repeat forever.

The issue can be triggered when multiple devices share the same SPI
interface. And there is concurrent access to the bus.

The problem occurs because tx_ring->head increments even if
mcp251xfd_start_xmit() fails. Consequently, the driver skips one TX
package while still expecting a response in
mcp251xfd_handle_tefif_one().

Resolve the issue by starting a workqueue to write the tx obj
synchronously if err = -EBUSY. In case of another error, decrement
tx_ring->head, remove skb from the echo stack, and drop the message.

[mkl: use more imperative wording in patch description]

Weakness: CWE-835 (Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-41088?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-41088?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-41088 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-41088 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-2024-41088 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-41088 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 29 Jul 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-2024-41088 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-2024-41088/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-41088/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-41088
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-41088
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-41088

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-41088/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.