# CVE-2024-43882: exec: Fix ToCToU between perm check and set-uid/gid usage

> A race condition in the Linux kernel allows local attackers to gain root privileges by exploiting a time-of-check to time-of-use flaw during file execution.

- **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:** 21 Aug 2024
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-48495, BELL-CVE-2024-43882, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-43882, GHSA-gpj2-qxrh-r55r, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-43882

## What is CVE-2024-43882?

CVE-2024-43882 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 Aug 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:

exec: Fix ToCToU between perm check and set-uid/gid usage

When opening a file for exec via do_filp_open(), permission checking is
done against the file's metadata at that moment, and on success, a file
pointer is passed back. Much later in the execve() code path, the file
metadata (specifically mode, uid, and gid) is used to determine if/how
to set the uid and gid. However, those values may have changed since the
permissions check, meaning the execution may gain unintended privileges.

For example, if a file could change permissions from executable and not
set-id:

---------x 1 root root 16048 Aug  7 13:16 target

to set-id and non-executable:

---S------ 1 root root 16048 Aug  7 13:16 target

it is possible to gain root privileges when execution should have been
disallowed.

While this race condition is rare in real-world scenarios, it has been
observed (and proven exploitable) when package managers are updating
the setuid bits of installed programs. Such files start with being
world-executable but then are adjusted to be group-exec with a set-uid
bit. For example, "chmod o-x,u+s target" makes "target" executable only
by uid "root" and gid "cdrom", while also becoming setuid-root:

-rwxr-xr-x 1 root cdrom 16048 Aug  7 13:16 target

becomes:

-rwsr-xr-- 1 root cdrom 16048 Aug  7 13:16 target

But racing the chmod means users without group "cdrom" membership can
get the permission to execute "target" just before the chmod, and when
the chmod finishes, the exec reaches brpm_fill_uid(), and performs the
setuid to root, violating the expressed authorization of "only cdrom
group members can setuid to root".

Re-check that we still have execute permissions in case the metadata
has changed. It would be better to keep a copy from the perm-check time,
but until we can do that refactoring, the least-bad option is to do a
full inode_permission() call (under inode lock). It is understood that
this is safe against dead-locks, but hardly optimal.

Weakness: CWE-367 (Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-43882?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-43882?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-43882 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-43882 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-2024-43882 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-43882 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 Aug 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-2024-43882 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-2024-43882/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-43882/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-43882
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-43882
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-43882

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-43882/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.