What is CVE-2024-40966?

CVE-2024-40966 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, affecting Linux kernel versions from 2.6.35 onward and patched in 6.1.96, 6.6.36, 6.9.7 and others. CVE-2024-40966 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2024-40966?

CVE-2024-40966 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2024-40966?

Yes, CVE-2024-40966 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.1.96, 6.6.36, 6.9.7 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 2.6.35 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2024-40966 actively exploited?

CVE-2024-40966 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

CVE-2024-40966

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tty: add the option to have a tty reject a new ldisc ... and use it to limit the virtual terminals to just N_TTY. They are kind of special, and in particular, the "con_write()" routine violates the "writes cannot sleep" rule that some ldiscs rely on. This avoids the BUG: sleeping function called from invalid context at kernel/printk/printk.c:2659 when N_GSM has been attached to a virtual console, and gsmld_write() calls con_write() while holding a spinlock, and con_write() then tries to get the console lock.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2024-07-12

Last modified 2025-11-03

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

5.5

out of 10

Medium

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Vector string

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

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 2.6.35 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.1.96, 6.6.36, 6.9.7, 6.10 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 2.6.35

Fixed in

✓ 6.1.96 6.1.x ✓ 6.6.36 6.6.x ✓ 6.9.7 6.9.x ✓ 6.10

References

5 total

Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/287b569a5b914903ba7c438a3c0dbc3410ebb409

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3c6332f3bb1578b5b10ac2561247b1d6272ae937

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5920ac19964f9e20181f63b410d9200ddbf8dc86

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6bd23e0c2bb6c65d4f5754d1456bc9a4427fc59b

Patch
Debian Security
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/01/msg00001.html

Details

CVE ID CVE-2024-40966

Severity Medium

CVSS score 5.5 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2024-07-12

Modified 2025-11-03

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2024-40966?

CVE-2024-40966 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 2.6.35 onward and has been patched in 6.1.96, 6.6.36, 6.9.7 and others. CVE-2024-40966 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2024-40966?

CVE-2024-40966 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2024-40966?

Yes. CVE-2024-40966 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.1.96, 6.6.36, 6.9.7 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 2.6.35 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2024-40966 actively exploited?

No. CVE-2024-40966 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.