# CVE-2024-46698: video/aperture: optionally match the device in sysfb_disable()

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel video aperture driver can cause a system crash when specific PCI device configurations are present.

- **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:** 13 Sep 2024
- **Updated:** 23 May 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-49278, BELL-CVE-2024-46698, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-46698, GHSA-7f48-pc7q-83qh, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2024-46698, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-46698

## What is CVE-2024-46698?

CVE-2024-46698 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 13 Sep 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:

video/aperture: optionally match the device in sysfb_disable()

In aperture_remove_conflicting_pci_devices(), we currently only
call sysfb_disable() on vga class devices.  This leads to the
following problem when the pimary device is not VGA compatible:

1. A PCI device with a non-VGA class is the boot display
2. That device is probed first and it is not a VGA device so
   sysfb_disable() is not called, but the device resources
   are freed by aperture_detach_platform_device()
3. Non-primary GPU has a VGA class and it ends up calling sysfb_disable()
4. NULL pointer dereference via sysfb_disable() since the resources
   have already been freed by aperture_detach_platform_device() when
   it was called by the other device.

Fix this by passing a device pointer to sysfb_disable() and checking
the device to determine if we should execute it or not.

v2: Fix build when CONFIG_SCREEN_INFO is not set
v3: Move device check into the mutex
    Drop primary variable in aperture_remove_conflicting_pci_devices()
    Drop __init on pci sysfb_pci_dev_is_enabled()

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-46698?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-46698?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-46698 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-46698 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-2024-46698 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-46698 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 13 Sep 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-2024-46698 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-2024-46698/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-46698/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-46698
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-46698
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-46698

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-46698/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.