CVE-2024-43378
calamares-nixos-extensions LUKS keyfile exposure regression on legacy BIOS systems
calamares-nixos-extensions provides Calamares branding and modules for NixOS, a distribution of GNU/Linux. Users who installed NixOS through the graphical installer who used manual disk partitioning to create a setup where the system was booted via legacy BIOS rather than UEFI; some disk partitions are encrypted; but the partitions containing either / or /boot are unencrypted; have their LUKS disk encryption key file in plain text either in /crypto_keyfile.bin, or in a CPIO archive attached to their NixOS initrd. nixos-install is not affected, nor are UEFI installations, nor was the default automatic partitioning configuration on legacy BIOS systems. The problem has been fixed in calamares-nixos-extensions 0.3.17, which was included in NixOS. The current installer images for the NixOS 24.05 and unstable (24.11) channels are unaffected. The fix reached 24.05 at 2024-08-13 20:06:59 UTC, and unstable at 2024-08-15 09:00:20 UTC. Installer images downloaded before those times may be vulnerable. The best solution for affected users is probably to back up their data and do a complete reinstallation. However, the mitigation procedure in GHSA-3rvf-24q2-24ww should work solely for the case where / is encrypted but /boot is not. If / is unencrypted, then the /crypto_keyfile.bin file will need to be deleted in addition to the remediation steps in the previous advisory. This issue is a partial regression of CVE-2023-36476 / GHSA-3rvf-24q2-24ww, which was more severe as it applied to the default configuration on BIOS systems.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
7.8
calamares-nixos-extensions LUKS keyfile exposure regression on legacy BIOS systems
calamares-nixos-extensions provides Calamares branding and modules for NixOS, a distribution of GNU/Linux. Users who installed NixOS through the graphical installer who used manual disk partitioning to create a setup where the system was booted via legacy BIOS rather than UEFI; some disk partitions are encrypted; but the partitions containing either / or /boot are unencrypted; have their LUKS disk encryption key file in plain text either in /crypto_keyfile.bin, or in a CPIO archive attached to their NixOS initrd. nixos-install is not affected, nor are UEFI installations, nor was the default automatic partitioning configuration on legacy BIOS systems. The problem has been fixed in calamares-nixos-extensions 0.3.17, which was included in NixOS. The current installer images for the NixOS 24.05 and unstable (24.11) channels are unaffected. The fix reached 24.05 at 2024-08-13 20:06:59 UTC, and unstable at 2024-08-15 09:00:20 UTC. Installer images downloaded before those times may be vulnerable. The best solution for affected users is probably to back up their data and do a complete reinstallation. However, the mitigation procedure in GHSA-3rvf-24q2-24ww should work solely for the case where / is encrypted but /boot is not. If / is unencrypted, then the /crypto_keyfile.bin file will need to be deleted in addition to the remediation steps in the previous advisory. This issue is a partial regression of CVE-2023-36476 / GHSA-3rvf-24q2-24ww, which was more severe as it applied to the default configuration on BIOS systems.
- Record
CVE-2024-43378- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-256
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2024-40256
7.8
calamares-nixos-extensions provides Calamares branding and modules for NixOS, a distribution of GNU/Linux. Users who installed NixOS through the graphical installer who used manual disk partitioning to create a setup where the system was booted via legacy BIOS rather than UEFI; some disk partitions are encrypted; but the partitions containing either / or /boot are unencrypted; have their LUKS disk encryption key file in plain text either in /crypto_keyfile.bin, or in a CPIO archive attached to their NixOS initrd. nixos-install is not affected, nor are UEFI installations, nor was the default automatic partitioning configuration on legacy BIOS systems. The problem has been fixed in calamares-nixos-extensions 0.3.17, which was included in NixOS. The current installer images for the NixOS 24.05 and unstable (24.11) channels are unaffected. The fix reached 24.05 at 2024-08-13 20:06:59 UTC, and unstable at 2024-08-15 09:00:20 UTC. Installer images downloaded before those times may be vulnerable. The best solution for affected users is probably to back up their data and do a complete reinstallation. However, the mitigation procedure in GHSA-3rvf-24q2-24ww should work solely for the case where / is encrypted but /boot is not. If / is unencrypted, then the /crypto_keyfile.bin file will need to be deleted in addition to the remediation steps in the previous advisory. This issue is a partial regression of CVE-2023-36476 / GHSA-3rvf-24q2-24ww, which was more severe as it applied to the default configuration on BIOS systems.
- Record
EUVD-2024-40256- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-03
NVD
7.8
calamares-nixos-extensions provides Calamares branding and modules for NixOS, a distribution of GNU/Linux. Users who installed NixOS through the graphical installer who used manual disk partitioning to create a setup where the system was booted via legacy BIOS rather than UEFI; some disk partitions are encrypted; but the partitions containing either / or /boot are unencrypted; have their LUKS disk encryption key file in plain text either in /crypto_keyfile.bin, or in a CPIO archive attached to their NixOS initrd. nixos-install is not affected, nor are UEFI installations, nor was the default automatic partitioning configuration on legacy BIOS systems. The problem has been fixed in calamares-nixos-extensions 0.3.17, which was included in NixOS. The current installer images for the NixOS 24.05 and unstable (24.11) channels are unaffected. The fix reached 24.05 at 2024-08-13 20:06:59 UTC, and unstable at 2024-08-15 09:00:20 UTC. Installer images downloaded before those times may be vulnerable. The best solution for affected users is probably to back up their data and do a complete reinstallation. However, the mitigation procedure in GHSA-3rvf-24q2-24ww should work solely for the case where / is encrypted but /boot is not. If / is unencrypted, then the /crypto_keyfile.bin file will need to be deleted in addition to the remediation steps in the previous advisory. This issue is a partial regression of CVE-2023-36476 / GHSA-3rvf-24q2-24ww, which was more severe as it applied to the default configuration on BIOS systems.
- Record
CVE-2024-43378- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-256
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
7.8
calamares-nixos-extensions LUKS keyfile exposure regression on legacy BIOS systems
calamares-nixos-extensions provides Calamares branding and modules for NixOS, a distribution of GNU/Linux. Users who installed NixOS through the graphical installer who used manual disk partitioning to create a setup where the system was booted via legacy BIOS rather than UEFI; some disk partitions are encrypted; but the partitions containing either / or /boot are unencrypted; have their LUKS disk encryption key file in plain text either in /crypto_keyfile.bin, or in a CPIO archive attached to their NixOS initrd. nixos-install is not affected, nor are UEFI installations, nor was the default automatic partitioning configuration on legacy BIOS systems. The problem has been fixed in calamares-nixos-extensions 0.3.17, which was included in NixOS. The current installer images for the NixOS 24.05 and unstable (24.11) channels are unaffected. The fix reached 24.05 at 2024-08-13 20:06:59 UTC, and unstable at 2024-08-15 09:00:20 UTC. Installer images downloaded before those times may be vulnerable. The best solution for affected users is probably to back up their data and do a complete reinstallation. However, the mitigation procedure in GHSA-3rvf-24q2-24ww should work solely for the case where / is encrypted but /boot is not. If / is unencrypted, then the /crypto_keyfile.bin file will need to be deleted in addition to the remediation steps in the previous advisory. This issue is a partial regression of CVE-2023-36476 / GHSA-3rvf-24q2-24ww, which was more severe as it applied to the default configuration on BIOS systems.
- Record
CVE-2024-43378- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-256
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases, published | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2024-43378 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.8) in Nixos Calamares-nixos-extensions, published August 15, 2024. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.13%, the 2nd percentile. No source names a fixed version.
References
github.com/NixOS/calamares-nixos-extensions/security/advisories/GHSA-vfxf-gpmj-2p25
github.com/NixOS/calamares-nixos-extensions/security/advisories/GHSA-3rvf-24q2-24ww
github.com/NixOS/calamares-nixos-extensions/pull/43
github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/pull/331607
github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/pull/334252
github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2024/43xxx/CVE-2024-43378.json
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-43378