dbcve.org
FreeBSDOperating system

CVE-2022-23086

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-02-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 12.3 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
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
Handlers for *_CFG_PAGE read / write ioctls in the mpr, mps, and mpt drivers allocated a buffer of a caller-specified size, but copied to it a fixed size header. Other heap content would be overwritten if the specified size was too small. Users with access to the mpr, mps or mpt device node may overwrite heap data, potentially resulting in privilege escalation. Note that the device node is only accessible to root and members of the operator group.

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

Heap buffer overflow in FreeBSD kernel drivers (mpr, mps, mpt) where ioctl handlers for *_CFG_PAGE allocate a caller-specified buffer but always copy a fixed-size header into it, overwriting adjacent heap data when the buffer is undersized. This can be exploited by users with root or operator group access to the device nodes for privilege escalation.

MitigationRestrict access to mpr/mps/mpt device nodes and apply the vendor patch which adds proper size validation before copying the header to prevent heap overflow.

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
FreeBSDOperating system
Affected:>= 12.0, < 12.3= 12.3= 13.0

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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. Check FreeBSD version
    Run 'uname -r' or check /etc/os-release to get the installed FreeBSD version
    Affected if Version is 12.0-12.3 or 13.0 (including 12.0 <= version < 12.3, exactly 12.3, or exactly 13.0)
  2. Verify mpr/mps/mpt kernel modules are loaded
    Run 'kldstat | grep -E "(mpr|mps|mpt)"' to check if any of the affected drivers are loaded in memory
    Affected if Any of the modules mpr, mps, or mpt are loaded (visible in kernel module list)
  3. Check for vulnerable device nodes
    Run 'ls -la /dev/mpr* /dev/mps* /dev/mpt* 2>/dev/null' to enumerate device node files
    Affected if Device files matching /dev/mpr*, /dev/mps*, or /dev/mpt* exist on the system
  4. Inspect device node permissions
    Run 'ls -la' on the found device nodes to see owner, group, and permissions
    Affected if Device nodes are readable or writable by users other than root or members of operator group

System is affected if running FreeBSD 12.0-12.3 or 13.0, has mpr/mps/mpt drivers loaded, and the device nodes are accessible to non-privileged users.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 12.3 or later
Fixed in 12.3
Interim mitigation

Restrict access to mpr/mps/mpt device nodes and apply the vendor patch which adds proper size validation before copying the header to prevent heap overflow.

Recommended fix High confidence

FreeBSD 12.4 or later, or FreeBSD 13.1 or later

  1. Identify the current FreeBSD version using 'freebsd-version' or 'uname -r'
  2. If running FreeBSD 12.x (12.0, 12.1, 12.2, or 12.3), upgrade to FreeBSD 12.4 or later using: 'freebsd-update fetch' followed by 'freebsd-update install'
  3. If running FreeBSD 13.0, upgrade to FreeBSD 13.1 or later using: 'freebsd-update fetch' followed by 'freebsd-update install'
  4. Alternatively, for a fresh install, download the fixed release from https://www.freebsd.org/releases/
  5. After upgrade, reboot the system to load the patched kernel
  6. Verify the fix by checking that the mpr, mps, mpt drivers are updated: 'kldstat | grep -E "(mpr|mps|mpt)"'
Caveat Standard FreeBSD upgrade risks apply - review release notes and test in non-production environment first

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

Fix this in FreeBSD Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
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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-2022-23086 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data