# CVE-2024-42072: bpf: Fix may_goto with negative offset.

> A flaw in the Linux kernel BPF verifier allows crafted programs to cause infinite loops, leading to system denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/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:** 29 Jul 2024
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-42072, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-42072, GHSA-hwc3-9p27-c4j6, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-42072

## What is CVE-2024-42072?

CVE-2024-42072 is a high-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:

bpf: Fix may_goto with negative offset.

Zac's syzbot crafted a bpf prog that exposed two bugs in may_goto.
The 1st bug is the way may_goto is patched. When offset is negative
it should be patched differently.
The 2nd bug is in the verifier:
when current state may_goto_depth is equal to visited state may_goto_depth
it means there is an actual infinite loop. It's not correct to prune
exploration of the program at this point.
Note, that this check doesn't limit the program to only one may_goto insn,
since 2nd and any further may_goto will increment may_goto_depth only
in the queued state pushed for future exploration. The current state
will have may_goto_depth == 0 regardless of number of may_goto insns
and the verifier has to explore the program until bpf_exit.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-42072?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-42072?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-42072 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-42072 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-2024-42072 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-42072 is a high-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-2024-42072 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-2024-42072/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-42072/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-42072
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-42072
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-42072

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-42072/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.