# CVE-2024-50231: iio: gts-helper: Fix memory leaks in iio_gts_build_avail_scale_table()

> A memory leak in the Linux kernel IIO subsystem allows local attackers to exhaust system memory, potentially causing 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:** 9 Nov 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-53129, BELL-CVE-2024-50231, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-50231, GHSA-ghff-7r8p-2pr4, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-50231

## What is CVE-2024-50231?

CVE-2024-50231 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 9 Nov 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:

iio: gts-helper: Fix memory leaks in iio_gts_build_avail_scale_table()

modprobe iio-test-gts and rmmod it, then the following memory leak
occurs:

	unreferenced object 0xffffff80c810be00 (size 64):
	  comm "kunit_try_catch", pid 1654, jiffies 4294913981
	  hex dump (first 32 bytes):
	    02 00 00 00 08 00 00 00 20 00 00 00 40 00 00 00  ........ ...@...
	    80 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 04 00 00 00 08 00 00  ................
	  backtrace (crc a63d875e):
	    [<0000000028c1b3c2>] kmemleak_alloc+0x34/0x40
	    [<000000001d6ecc87>] __kmalloc_noprof+0x2bc/0x3c0
	    [<00000000393795c1>] devm_iio_init_iio_gts+0x4b4/0x16f4
	    [<0000000071bb4b09>] 0xffffffdf052a62e0
	    [<000000000315bc18>] 0xffffffdf052a6488
	    [<00000000f9dc55b5>] kunit_try_run_case+0x13c/0x3ac
	    [<00000000175a3fd4>] kunit_generic_run_threadfn_adapter+0x80/0xec
	    [<00000000f505065d>] kthread+0x2e8/0x374
	    [<00000000bbfb0e5d>] ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20
	unreferenced object 0xffffff80cbfe9e70 (size 16):
	  comm "kunit_try_catch", pid 1658, jiffies 4294914015
	  hex dump (first 16 bytes):
	    10 00 00 00 40 00 00 00 80 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ....@...........
	  backtrace (crc 857f0cb4):
	    [<0000000028c1b3c2>] kmemleak_alloc+0x34/0x40
	    [<000000001d6ecc87>] __kmalloc_noprof+0x2bc/0x3c0
	    [<00000000393795c1>] devm_iio_init_iio_gts+0x4b4/0x16f4
	    [<0000000071bb4b09>] 0xffffffdf052a62e0
	    [<000000007d089d45>] 0xffffffdf052a6864
	    [<00000000f9dc55b5>] kunit_try_run_case+0x13c/0x3ac
	    [<00000000175a3fd4>] kunit_generic_run_threadfn_adapter+0x80/0xec
	    [<00000000f505065d>] kthread+0x2e8/0x374
	    [<00000000bbfb0e5d>] ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20
	......

It includes 5*5 times "size 64" memory leaks, which correspond to 5 times
test_init_iio_gain_scale() calls with gts_test_gains size 10 (10*size(int))
and gts_test_itimes size 5. It also includes 5*1 times "size 16"
memory leak, which correspond to one time __test_init_iio_gain_scale()
call with gts_test_gains_gain_low size 3 (3*size(int)) and gts_test_itimes
size 5.

The reason is that the per_time_gains[i] is not freed which is allocated in
the "gts->num_itime" for loop in iio_gts_build_avail_scale_table().

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-50231?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-50231?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-50231 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-50231 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-2024-50231 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-50231 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 9 Nov 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-2024-50231 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-2024-50231/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-50231/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-50231
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-50231
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-50231

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-50231/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.
