CVE-2024-38440: Netatalk vulnerability (CVSS 7.5)

Description

Netatalk before 3.2.1 has an off-by-one error, and resultant heap-based buffer overflow and segmentation violation, because of incorrectly using FPLoginExt in BN_bin2bn in etc/uams/uams_dhx_pam.c. The original issue 1097 report stated: 'The latest version of Netatalk (v3.2.0) contains a security vulnerability. This vulnerability arises due to a lack of validation for the length field after parsing user-provided data, leading to an out-of-bounds heap write of one byte (\0). Under specific configurations, this can result in reading metadata of the next heap block, potentially causing a Denial of Service (DoS) under certain heap layouts or with ASAN enabled. ... The vulnerability is located in the FPLoginExt operation of Netatalk, in the BN_bin2bn function found in /etc/uams/uams_dhx_pam.c ... if (!(bn = BN_bin2bn((unsigned char *)ibuf, KEYSIZE, NULL))) ... threads ... [#0] Id 1, Name: "afpd", stopped 0x7ffff4304e58 in ?? (), reason: SIGSEGV ... [#0] 0x7ffff4304e58 mov BYTE PTR [r14+0x8], 0x0 ... mov rdx, QWORD PTR [rsp+0x18] ... afp_login_ext(obj=<optimized out>, ibuf=0x62d000010424 "", ibuflen=0xffffffffffff0015, rbuf=<optimized out>, rbuflen=<optimized out>) ... afp_over_dsi(obj=0x5555556154c0 <obj>).' 2.4.1 and 3.1.19 are also fixed versions.

CVSS 3.1 breakdown

Attack vectorNetwork

Attack complexityLow

Privileges requiredNone

User interactionNone

ScopeUnchanged

ConfidentialityNone

IntegrityNone

AvailabilityHigh

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Affected products

Netatalk≥ 2.0.0 < 2.4.1 · ≥ 3.0 < 3.1.19 · 3.2.0

Remediation

Fixed in

Netatalk≥ 2.4.1

Patch & vendor advisories

References

https://github.com/Netatalk/netatalk/blob/90d91a9ac9a7d6132ab7620d31c8c23400949206/etc/uams/uams_dhx_pam.c#L199-L200Product
https://github.com/Netatalk/netatalk/issues/1097Not Applicable
https://github.com/Netatalk/netatalk/security/advisories/GHSA-mxx4-9fhm-r3w5ExploitVendor Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/11/msg00026.html
https://netatalk.io/security/CVE-2024-38440Vendor Advisory

Related CVEs

Recent high-severity vulnerabilities sharing a weakness type.

Frequently asked

Is CVE-2024-38440 being actively exploited?

CVE-2024-38440 is not in the CISA KEV catalog. A public exploit reference exists, so treat it as exploitable. Its EPSS exploit probability is 0.88%.

How severe is CVE-2024-38440?

CVE-2024-38440 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5, rated high. EPSS estimates a 0.88% probability of exploitation.

Which products are affected by CVE-2024-38440?

Affected products include Netatalk.

How do I fix CVE-2024-38440?

Upgrade affected software to a fixed version, for example Netatalk 2.4.1 or later, then confirm no affected versions remain in your inventory.

How Secuno handles this

Secuno correlates vulnerabilities like CVE-2024-38440 against the real software inventory on every managed device, as each hourly inventory arrives. Rather than a static severity, each match is scored in context: exploit availability, EPSS, the asset's exposure, and business criticality decide where it lands in the queue. If an affected version is present anywhere across your portfolio, it surfaces automatically with a prioritised remediation path.

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