# CVE-2024-44966: binfmt_flat: Fix corruption when not offsetting data start

> A memory corruption flaw in the Linux kernel's binfmt_flat handler allows attackers to corrupt memory segments, potentially leading to code execution or privilege escalation.

- **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:** 4 Sep 2024
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-44966, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-44966, GHSA-g9qh-hcq6-2x9p, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-44966

## What is CVE-2024-44966?

CVE-2024-44966 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 Sep 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:

binfmt_flat: Fix corruption when not offsetting data start

Commit 04d82a6d0881 ("binfmt_flat: allow not offsetting data start")
introduced a RISC-V specific variant of the FLAT format which does
not allocate any space for the (obsolete) array of shared library
pointers. However, it did not disable the code which initializes the
array, resulting in the corruption of sizeof(long) bytes before the DATA
segment, generally the end of the TEXT segment.

Introduce MAX_SHARED_LIBS_UPDATE which depends on the state of
CONFIG_BINFMT_FLAT_NO_DATA_START_OFFSET to guard the initialization of
the shared library pointer region so that it will only be initialized
if space is reserved for it.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-44966?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-44966?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-44966 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-44966 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-2024-44966 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-44966 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 Sep 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-2024-44966 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-2024-44966/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-44966/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-44966
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-44966
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-44966

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-44966/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.