# CVE-2024-43890: tracing: Fix overflow in get_free_elt()

> An integer overflow in the Linux kernel tracing map allows attackers to cause a CPU hang via infinite loop during element insertion.

- **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:** 26 Aug 2024
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-48620, BELL-CVE-2024-43890, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-43890, GHSA-mxxf-4gg8-94vw, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-43890

## What is CVE-2024-43890?

CVE-2024-43890 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 26 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:

tracing: Fix overflow in get_free_elt()

"tracing_map->next_elt" in get_free_elt() is at risk of overflowing.

Once it overflows, new elements can still be inserted into the tracing_map
even though the maximum number of elements (`max_elts`) has been reached.
Continuing to insert elements after the overflow could result in the
tracing_map containing "tracing_map->max_size" elements, leaving no empty
entries.
If any attempt is made to insert an element into a full tracing_map using
`__tracing_map_insert()`, it will cause an infinite loop with preemption
disabled, leading to a CPU hang problem.

Fix this by preventing any further increments to "tracing_map->next_elt"
once it reaches "tracing_map->max_elt".

Weakness: CWE-190 (Integer Overflow or Wraparound)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-43890?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-43890?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-43890 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-43890 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-2024-43890 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-43890 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 26 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-2024-43890 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-2024-43890/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-43890/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-43890
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-43890
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-43890

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-43890/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.