# CVE-2024-39497: drm/shmem-helper: Fix BUG_ON() on mmap(PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE)

> A local attacker can trigger a kernel panic via a specific mmap call in the Linux kernel's DRM shmem helper, causing a denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 12 Jul 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-39497, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-39497, GHSA-hc4x-fm75-q3wc, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-39497

## What is CVE-2024-39497?

CVE-2024-39497 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 12 Jul 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

drm/shmem-helper: Fix BUG_ON() on mmap(PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE)

Lack of check for copy-on-write (COW) mapping in drm_gem_shmem_mmap
allows users to call mmap with PROT_WRITE and MAP_PRIVATE flag
causing a kernel panic due to BUG_ON in vmf_insert_pfn_prot:
BUG_ON((vma->vm_flags & VM_PFNMAP) && is_cow_mapping(vma->vm_flags));

Return -EINVAL early if COW mapping is detected.

This bug affects all drm drivers using default shmem helpers.
It can be reproduced by this simple example:
void *ptr = mmap(0, size, PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE, fd, mmap_offset);
ptr[0] = 0;

Weakness: CWE-617 (Reachable Assertion)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-39497?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-39497?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-39497 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-39497 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2024-39497 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-39497 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 12 Jul 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-39497 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-39497/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-39497/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-39497
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-39497
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-39497

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-39497/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.