# CVE-2024-57878: arm64: ptrace: fix partial SETREGSET for NT_ARM_FPMR

> A local attacker can leak up to 64 bits of kernel stack memory by triggering a zero-length ptrace SETREGSET call on the FPMR register.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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:** 11 Jan 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-57878, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-57878, GHSA-w46c-ww47-4hf8, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-57878

## What is CVE-2024-57878?

CVE-2024-57878 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 11 Jan 2025. 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:

arm64: ptrace: fix partial SETREGSET for NT_ARM_FPMR

Currently fpmr_set() doesn't initialize the temporary 'fpmr' variable,
and a SETREGSET call with a length of zero will leave this
uninitialized. Consequently an arbitrary value will be written back to
target->thread.uw.fpmr, potentially leaking up to 64 bits of memory from
the kernel stack. The read is limited to a specific slot on the stack,
and the issue does not provide a write mechanism.

Fix this by initializing the temporary value before copying the regset
from userspace, as for other regsets (e.g. NT_PRSTATUS, NT_PRFPREG,
NT_ARM_SYSTEM_CALL). In the case of a zero-length write, the existing
contents of FPMR will be retained.

Before this patch:

| # ./fpmr-test
| Attempting to write NT_ARM_FPMR::fpmr = 0x900d900d900d900d
| SETREGSET(nt=0x40e, len=8) wrote 8 bytes
|
| Attempting to read NT_ARM_FPMR::fpmr
| GETREGSET(nt=0x40e, len=8) read 8 bytes
| Read NT_ARM_FPMR::fpmr = 0x900d900d900d900d
|
| Attempting to write NT_ARM_FPMR (zero length)
| SETREGSET(nt=0x40e, len=0) wrote 0 bytes
|
| Attempting to read NT_ARM_FPMR::fpmr
| GETREGSET(nt=0x40e, len=8) read 8 bytes
| Read NT_ARM_FPMR::fpmr = 0xffff800083963d50

After this patch:

| # ./fpmr-test
| Attempting to write NT_ARM_FPMR::fpmr = 0x900d900d900d900d
| SETREGSET(nt=0x40e, len=8) wrote 8 bytes
|
| Attempting to read NT_ARM_FPMR::fpmr
| GETREGSET(nt=0x40e, len=8) read 8 bytes
| Read NT_ARM_FPMR::fpmr = 0x900d900d900d900d
|
| Attempting to write NT_ARM_FPMR (zero length)
| SETREGSET(nt=0x40e, len=0) wrote 0 bytes
|
| Attempting to read NT_ARM_FPMR::fpmr
| GETREGSET(nt=0x40e, len=8) read 8 bytes
| Read NT_ARM_FPMR::fpmr = 0x900d900d900d900d

Weakness: CWE-908 (Use of Uninitialized Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-57878?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-57878?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-57878 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-57878 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-2024-57878 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-57878 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 11 Jan 2025. 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-2024-57878 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-2024-57878/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-57878/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-57878
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-57878
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-57878

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-57878/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.