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Medium severity5.5NVD Advisory· Published Nov 8, 2024· Updated May 12, 2026

CVE-2024-50188

CVE-2024-50188

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net: phy: dp83869: fix memory corruption when enabling fiber

When configuring the fiber port, the DP83869 PHY driver incorrectly calls linkmode_set_bit() with a bit mask (1 << 10) rather than a bit number (10). This corrupts some other memory location -- in case of arm64 the priv pointer in the same structure.

Since the advertising flags are updated from supported at the end of the function the incorrect line isn't needed at all and can be removed.

AI Insight

LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.

The DP83869 Ethernet PHY driver in the Linux kernel passes a bit mask instead of a bit number to linkmode_set_bit(), causing memory corruption when fiber mode is enabled.

Vulnerability

In the Linux kernel's DP83869 PHY driver, a programming error exists in the fiber port configuration path. The driver calls linkmode_set_bit() with a bit mask (1 << 10) rather than the expected bit number 10. This mismatch causes the function to write into an incorrect memory location, leading to memory corruption. On arm64 systems, this corruption specifically overwrites the priv pointer within the same structure, which can result in unpredictable behavior or crashes [1].

Exploitation

The vulnerability is triggered when the DP83869 PHY is configured to operate in fiber mode. An attacker would need local access to the system and the ability to trigger the PHY configuration path (e.g., by setting the fiber mode via ethtool or a similar tool). No authentication is required beyond the ability to issue the configuration command as a privileged user. The attack surface is limited to systems using the affected DP83869 PHY driver and enabling fiber operation [1].

Impact

Successful exploitation can lead to memory corruption, potentially causing a denial of service (system crash or hang). The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.5 (Medium) with a vector of AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H, indicating that the primary impact is on availability. No confidentiality or integrity impact is expected [1].

Mitigation

The fix was applied in the Linux kernel stable tree. The incorrect linkmode_set_bit() call is unnecessary because the advertising flags are later updated from the supported masks, so the faulty line can simply be removed. Users should update their kernel to include the patch referenced by commit IDs (e.g., 9ca634676ff66e1d616259e136f96f96b2a1759a) to remediate this issue [3], [4]. Systems with affected Siemens products (e.g., SIMATIC S7-1500 TM MFP GNU/Linux subsystem) are also affected and should apply the vendor's security updates [2].

References
  1. SSA-355557
  2. SSA-265688
  3. Making sure you're not a bot!
  4. Making sure you're not a bot!

AI Insight generated on May 20, 2026. Synthesized from this CVE's description and the cited reference URLs; citations are validated against the source bundle.

Affected products

105

Patches

0

No patches discovered yet.

Vulnerability mechanics

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References

10

News mentions

0

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