Kernel crash via unchecked display allocations
Published Jul 30, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernels starting with 4.15 allows local users to crash the kernel during AMD display setup. AMD display clock-manager and resource-construction paths use structures returned by kzalloc without first rejecting NULL allocation results. Triggering requires local low-privilege access, an affected AMD display path, and a failed allocation; the consequence is a kernel crash.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernels starting with 4.15 allows local users to crash the kernel during AMD display setup. AMD display clock-manager and resource-construction paths use structures returned by kzalloc without first rejecting NULL allocation results. Triggering requires local low-privilege access, an affected AMD display path, and a failed allocation; the consequence is a kernel crash.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-42122
- Published
- Jul 30, 2024
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-476, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 30, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=4.15
- Affected versionversion=4562236b3bc0a28aeb6ee93b2d8a849a4c4e1c7c <062edd612fcd300f0f79a36fca5b8b6a5e2fce70
- Affected versionversion=4562236b3bc0a28aeb6ee93b2d8a849a4c4e1c7c <552e7938b4d7fe548fbf29b9950a14c6149d0470
- Affected versionversion=4562236b3bc0a28aeb6ee93b2d8a849a4c4e1c7c <8e65a1b7118acf6af96449e1e66b7adbc9396912
- Affected versionversion=4562236b3bc0a28aeb6ee93b2d8a849a4c4e1c7c <cd1e565a5b7fa60c349ca8a16db1e61715fe8230
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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