CVE-2024-46812

What it actually does

The flaw allows illegal memory accesses when ModeSupportAndSystemConfiguration processes inactive display planes in the AMD display driver, resulting in memory corruption.

Why it matters to the business

Local users on affected Linux systems with AMD GPUs can trigger crashes, denial of service, or potential elevation of privileges, disrupting operations and requiring urgent patching across fleets.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker with local access supplies display configurations containing inactive planes that reach the vulnerable code path, causing the driver to perform out-of-bounds or uninitialized memory operations that corrupt kernel memory.

How to fix it

Update the Linux kernel to a version containing commit 2fd32a65f2e78eff0862c8fdf7815ca6bb44fb2e or later stable releases that include the fix; rebuild and deploy the patched kernel across all affected systems.

How to confirm the fix worked

Confirm the running kernel contains commit 2fd32a65f2e78eff0862c8fdf7815ca6bb44fb2e, verify the drm/amd/display code path now skips inactive planes, and test display mode changes under load to ensure no crashes occur.

Typical attack path

1. Obtain local user access on a Linux system using the affected AMD display driver
2. Craft or trigger a display mode configuration that includes inactive planes
3. Invoke ModeSupportAndSystemConfiguration so the driver processes the inactive planes
4. Trigger illegal memory access leading to corruption or control-flow hijack

How to detect it

Review kernel logs for AMD display driver crashes or warnings around ModeSupportAndSystemConfiguration, examine audit logs for unusual display configuration activity by local users, and correlate with process execution of graphics-related tools.

What your security team should do

• Prioritize kernel upgrades on all AMD GPU systems within the next patch cycle
• Monitor for local privilege-escalation attempts targeting display drivers
• Restrict unprivileged local access where feasible until patches are applied