dbcve.org
LinuxOperating system · Oracle

CVE-2022-21505

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-12-24
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
In the linux kernel, if IMA appraisal is used with the "ima_appraise=log" boot param, lockdown can be defeated with kexec on any machine when Secure Boot is disabled or unavailable. IMA prevents setting "ima_appraise=log" from the boot param when Secure Boot is enabled, but this does not cover cases where lockdown is used without Secure Boot. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 6.7 (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

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 · high confidence

This Linux kernel vulnerability allows bypassing IMA (Integrity Measurement Architecture) appraisal when the 'ima_appraise=log' boot parameter is used alongside lockdown without Secure Boot enabled. While IMA correctly prevents this setting when Secure Boot is active, it fails to enforce the same restriction when lockdown is used without Secure Boot, enabling an attacker with high privileges to defeat lockdown via kexec to load an untrusted kernel.

MitigationEnable Secure Boot in UEFI firmware to prevent the 'ima_appraise=log' boot parameter from being usable, or avoid using 'ima_appraise=log' when Secure Boot is disabled/unavailable and lockdown is in use.

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

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 7= 8= 9

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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/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 Oracle Linux version
    Run 'uname -r' or check '/etc/oracle-release' to confirm the system is Oracle Linux 7, 8, or 9
    Affected if The system is not Oracle Linux 7, 8, or 9 (not affected by this specific CVE)
  2. Check for ima_appraise=log boot parameter
    Run 'cat /proc/cmdline' and look for 'ima_appraise=log' in the output
    Affected if The boot parameter 'ima_appraise=log' is present (required for this vulnerability)
  3. Check Secure Boot status
    Run 'mokutil --sb-state' or check if /sys/firmware/efi exists; Secure Boot is disabled if output shows 'disabled' or the path does not exist
    Affected if Secure Boot is disabled (this is one of the conditions needed for the vulnerability)
  4. Check if lockdown is in use
    Run 'cat /sys/kernel/security/lockdown' and look for '[locked]' or '[integrity]' in the output; also check boot parameters for 'lockdown='
    Affected if Lockdown mode is enabled (this is one of the conditions needed for the vulnerability)

The system is affected if it is Oracle Linux 7, 8, or 9 AND has 'ima_appraise=log' boot parameter AND has lockdown enabled AND Secure Boot is disabled.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Enable Secure Boot in UEFI firmware to prevent the 'ima_appraise=log' boot parameter from being usable, or avoid using 'ima_appraise=log' when Secure Boot is disabled/unavailable and lockdown is in use.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Oracle Linux kernel-5.14.0-OSE.EL8.x or later (consult Oracle OEL kernel updates for specific errata)

  1. Check Oracle Linux kernel version: uname -r
  2. Verify if your system uses Secure Boot or lockdown mode by checking /sys/kernel/security/lockdown and boot configuration
  3. For Oracle Linux 7/8/9: Apply the latest kernel security updates from Oracle's yum repository: yum update kernel
  4. Reboot into the new kernel after applying updates
  5. Verify the fix is applied by checking that 'ima_appraise=log' cannot be used to bypass IMA when Secure Boot is disabled
  6. If unable to update immediately, consider disabling kexec in the kernel by adding 'kexec=0' to boot parameters as a temporary mitigation
Caveat Kernel updates may require system reboot and could introduce compatibility changes with custom kernel modules

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-21505 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2022-21505 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data