# CVE-2024-50156: drm/msm: Avoid NULL dereference in msm_disp_state_print_regs()

> A NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's MSM display driver can cause a system crash when register allocation fails.

- **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:** 7 Nov 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-53268, AZL-53385, BELL-CVE-2024-50156, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-50156, GHSA-wpfc-gx92-f98v, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-50156

## What is CVE-2024-50156?

CVE-2024-50156 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 7 Nov 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/msm: Avoid NULL dereference in msm_disp_state_print_regs()

If the allocation in msm_disp_state_dump_regs() failed then
`block->state` can be NULL. The msm_disp_state_print_regs() function
_does_ have code to try to handle it with:

  if (*reg)
    dump_addr = *reg;

...but since "dump_addr" is initialized to NULL the above is actually
a noop. The code then goes on to dereference `dump_addr`.

Make the function print "Registers not stored" when it sees a NULL to
solve this. Since we're touching the code, fix
msm_disp_state_print_regs() not to pointlessly take a double-pointer
and properly mark the pointer as `const`.

Patchwork: https://patchwork.freedesktop.org/patch/619657/

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-50156?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-50156?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-50156 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-50156 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-2024-50156 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-50156 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 7 Nov 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-2024-50156 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-2024-50156/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-50156/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-50156
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-50156
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-50156

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-50156/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.