The Year 2038 Problem

The Math

Legacy systems often store time as a signed 32-bit integer.

• Max value of signed 32-bit int: 2,147,483,647
• This corresponds to: Tue Jan 19 2038 03:14:07 UTC

When the clock ticks one more second, the binary counter overflows:

The date instantly jumps back to December 13, 1901.

What is at Risk?

• Databases: Using INT (usually 32-bit) instead of BIGINT for timestamp columns. MySQL's TIMESTAMP type (not DATETIME) is also 32-bit in older versions.
• Embedded Systems: Routers, IoT devices, and industrial controllers often run 32-bit Linux.
• File Formats: Older binary formats (like older ZIP specs or tar headers) might use 32-bit fields.
• Future Scheduling: Mortgages, bonds, or subscriptions ending after 2038 are already failing on vulnerable systems.

Mitigation Guide

1. Database Migration

Audit your schemas. Change any timestamp column from INT to BIGINT (or int8).

-- ❌ Vulnerable
CREATE TABLE users (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    created_at INTEGER -- Max 2038
);

-- ✅ Safe
CREATE TABLE users (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    created_at BIGINT -- Good for 292 billion years
);

2. Use 64-bit Architectures

Ensure your servers are running 64-bit OSs (x86_64 or arm64). In C/C++, time_t is usually 64-bit on these platforms.