Improper Input ValidationWeakness · CWE-20

CVE-2024-0179

HIGH · 8.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-02-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
SMM Callout vulnerability within the AmdCpmDisplayFeatureSMM driver could allow locally authenticated attackers to overwrite SMRAM, potentially resulting in arbitrary code execution.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

This is an SMM (System Management Mode) callout vulnerability in the AmdCpmDisplayFeatureSMM driver. SMM is a high-privilege CPU mode used for firmware power management, and SMRAM is a protected memory region accessible only in SMM. The vulnerability allows a locally authenticated attacker to overwrite SMRAM, potentially executing arbitrary code at the highest privilege level (ring -2, below SMM).

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied BIOS/UEFI firmware update from AMD that patches the AmdCpmDisplayFeatureSMM driver. Restrict local administrative access to prevent exploitation.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify AMD platform usage
    Identify if the system uses an AMD processor or AMD-based platform (e.g., check system information, dmidecode output, or BIOS vendor information). This vulnerability affects only AMD-specific firmware components.
    Affected if System does not use AMD hardware - the AmdCpmDisplayFeatureSMM driver is AMD-specific and would not be present on non-AMD platforms.
  2. Check BIOS/UEFI firmware version
    Retrieve the current BIOS/UEFI firmware version from the system (via dmidecode, BIOS setup, or vendor tools). Compare this version against the AMD security advisory for CVE-2024-0179 to determine if the patch has been applied.
    Affected if The installed BIOS/UEFI firmware version is older than the version that includes the CVE-2024-0179 patch for the AmdCpmDisplayFeatureSMM driver.
  3. Verify AmdCpmDisplayFeatureSMM driver presence
    Check firmware or system documentation for the presence of the AmdCpmDisplayFeatureSMM driver in the UEFI/BIOS image. This may be visible in firmware dumps, UEFI shell, or by reviewing the installed firmware components.
    Affected if The AmdCpmDisplayFeatureSMM driver is present in the system firmware and has not been patched to the fixed version.
  4. Check SMRAM lock status
    Inspect the System Management RAM (SMRAM) configuration status. On systems with TCG/Intel VT-d or AMD-Vi, verify whether SMRAM is properly locked (using tools like dmidecode, or reading SMRAM control registers). The vulnerability allows SMRAM overwrite if not properly protected.
    Affected if SMRAM is not locked or is accessible from the operating system, indicating the SMM isolation may be compromised or the driver vulnerability could be exploitable.

A user is affected if they are running AMD hardware with a BIOS/UEFI firmware version lacking the CVE-2024-0179 patch, where the AmdCpmDisplayFeatureSMM driver is present and SMRAM is not securely locked.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied BIOS/UEFI firmware update from AMD that patches the AmdCpmDisplayFeatureSMM driver. Restrict local administrative access to prevent exploitation.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $7,000
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-0179 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-0179 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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