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UBUNTU-CVE-2017-9605 Moderate

UBUNTU-CVE-2017-9605

The vmw_gb_surface_define_ioctl function (accessible via DRM_IOCTL_VMW_GB_SURFACE_CREATE) in drivers/gpu/drm/vmwgfx/vmwgfx_surface.c in the Linux kernel through 4.11.4 defines a backup_handle variable but does not give it an initial value. If one attempts to create a GB surface, with a previously allocated DMA buffer to be used as a backup buffer, the backup_handle variable does not get written to and is then later returned to user space, allowing local users to obtain sensitive information from uninitialized kernel memory via a crafted ioctl call.

Exploit probability Not scored
Published June 13, 2017
Required by Not available
Last source change April 22, 2026

02 / AFFECTED SOFTWARE

Affected packages

Ubuntu:14.04:LTS linux

116 explicit affected versions

Ubuntu:14.04:LTS linux-lts-xenial

33 explicit affected versions

Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux

55 explicit affected versions

Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-aws

13 explicit affected versions

Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-gke

11 explicit affected versions

Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-hwe

17 explicit affected versions

Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-raspi2

31 explicit affected versions

Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-snapdragon

28 explicit affected versions

Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-azure

44 explicit affected versions

Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gcp

38 explicit affected versions

Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-hwe

43 explicit affected versions

Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-hwe-edge

10 explicit affected versions

Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oem

50 explicit affected versions

Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-fde

26 explicit affected versions

Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gke

51 explicit affected versions

Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-raspi2

6 explicit affected versions

Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-riscv

12 explicit affected versions

Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-intel-iot-realtime

1 explicit affected versions

Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-realtime

1 explicit affected versions

Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-riscv

23 explicit affected versions

Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-raspi-realtime

1 explicit affected versions

03 / CONNECTIONS

Connected vulnerabilities

related USN-3358-1
related USN-3359-1
related USN-3360-2

04 / EVIDENCE

Source records

Open Source Vulnerabilities UBUNTU-CVE-2017-9605

The vmw_gb_surface_define_ioctl function (accessible via DRM_IOCTL_VMW_GB_SURFACE_CREATE) in drivers/gpu/drm/vmwgfx/vmwgfx_surface.c in the Linux kernel through 4.11.4 defines a backup_handle variable but does not give it an initial value. If one attempts to create a GB surface, with a previously allocated DMA buffer to be used as a backup buffer, the backup_handle variable does not get written to and is then later returned to user space, allowing local users to obtain sensitive information from uninitialized kernel memory via a crafted ioctl call.

View original source

05 / REFERENCES

Further evidence