Introduction
A single flaw in the graphics driver stack can lead to arbitrary memory writes and denial-of-service conditions. In CVE-2024-36352, improper input validation in AMD's Graphics Driver can let a local attacker manipulate kernel memory, which puts system integrity and availability at risk.
Technical Information
CVE-2024-36352 comes from improper input validation in the AMD Graphics Driver. A local attacker with low privileges can pass a specially crafted pointer to the driver as input. Because the driver does not validate that pointer sufficiently, it may dereference it in kernel mode, and the result can be arbitrary memory writes or denial of service. The vulnerability is classified as CWE-822 (Untrusted Pointer Dereference).
Technical characteristics:
- Attack vector: Local (AV:L)
- Attack complexity: Low (AC:L)
- Privileges required: Low (PR:L)
- User interaction: None required (UI:N)
- Scope: Changed (S:C)
- Impact: High integrity and availability
The driver does not adequately check user-supplied pointers before it dereferences them in privileged code paths. An attacker can use this to target sensitive memory regions, which could escalate privileges or crash the system. No public code snippets or proof of concept are available at the time of writing.
Affected Systems and Versions
AMD's security bulletins and other public sources list these affected products:
- AMD Athlon 3000 Series Mobile Processors with Radeon Graphics
- AMD Radeon Instinct Mi25 Graphics Products
Public sources do not give a complete list of affected driver versions. AMD's advisories AMD-SB-5007 and AMD-SB-6018 cover embedded and graphics products respectively, so check those bulletins for the most current affected-version information.
Vendor Security History
AMD has previously fixed vulnerabilities in both graphics and processor components, including memory corruption and privilege escalation issues. The company publishes regular security bulletins and typically releases driver updates in response to reported vulnerabilities. Memory safety issues have recurred in the graphics driver stack, which reflects how complex and performance-sensitive this software layer is.
