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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2022-48688

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.19.258 / 5.4.213 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

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, the following vulnerability has been resolved: i40e: Fix kernel crash during module removal The driver incorrectly frees client instance and subsequent i40e module removal leads to kernel crash. Reproducer: 1. Do ethtool offline test followed immediately by another one host# ethtool -t eth0 offline; ethtool -t eth0 offline 2. Remove recursively irdma module that also removes i40e module host# modprobe -r irdma Result: [ 8675.035651] i40e 0000:3d:00.0 eno1: offline testing starting [ 8675.193774] i40e 0000:3d:00.0 eno1: testing finished [ 8675.201316] i40e 0000:3d:00.0 eno1: offline testing starting [ 8675.358921] i40e 0000:3d:00.0 eno1: testing finished [ 8675.496921] i40e 0000:3d:00.0: IRDMA hardware initialization FAILED init_state=2 status=-110 [ 8686.188955] i40e 0000:3d:00.1: i40e_ptp_stop: removed PHC on eno2 [ 8686.943890] i40e 0000:3d:00.1: Deleted LAN device PF1 bus=0x3d dev=0x00 func=0x01 [ 8686.952669] i40e 0000:3d:00.0: i40e_ptp_stop: removed PHC on eno1 [ 8687.761787] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000030 [ 8687.768755] #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode [ 8687.773895] #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page [ 8687.779034] PGD 0 P4D 0 [ 8687.781575] Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP NOPTI [ 8687.785935] CPU: 51 PID: 172891 Comm: rmmod Kdump: loaded Tainted: G W I 5.19.0+ #2 [ 8687.794800] Hardware name: Intel Corporation S2600WFD/S2600WFD, BIOS SE5C620.86B.0X.02.0001.051420190324 05/14/2019 [ 8687.805222] RIP: 0010:i40e_lan_del_device+0x13/0xb0 [i40e] [ 8687.810719] Code: d4 84 c0 0f 84 b8 25 01 00 e9 9c 25 01 00 41 bc f4 ff ff ff eb 91 90 0f 1f 44 00 00 41 54 55 53 48 8b 87 58 08 00 00 48 89 fb <48> 8b 68 30 48 89 ef e8 21 8a 0f d5 48 89 ef e8 a9 78 0f d5 48 8b [ 8687.829462] RSP: 0018:ffffa604072efce0 EFLAGS: 00010202 [ 8687.834689] RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff8f43833b2000 RCX: 0000000000000000 [ 8687.841821] RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: ffff8f4b0545b298 RDI: ffff8f43833b2000 [ 8687.848955] RBP: ffff8f43833b2000 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: 0000000000000000 [ 8687.856086] R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 000ffffffffff000 R12: ffff8f43833b2ef0 [ 8687.863218] R13: ffff8f43833b2ef0 R14: ffff915103966000 R15: ffff8f43833b2008 [ 8687.870342] FS: 00007f79501c3740(0000) GS:ffff8f4adffc0000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [ 8687.878427] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [ 8687.884174] CR2: 0000000000000030 CR3: 000000014276e004 CR4: 00000000007706e0 [ 8687.891306] DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 [ 8687.898441] DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 [ 8687.905572] PKRU: 55555554 [ 8687.908286] Call Trace: [ 8687.910737] <TASK> [ 8687.912843] i40e_remove+0x2c0/0x330 [i40e] [ 8687.917040] pci_device_remove+0x33/0xa0 [ 8687.920962] device_release_driver_internal+0x1aa/0x230 [ 8687.926188] driver_detach+0x44/0x90 [ 8687.929770] bus_remove_driver+0x55/0xe0 [ 8687.933693] pci_unregister_driver+0x2a/0xb0 [ 8687.937967] i40e_exit_module+0xc/0xf48 [i40e] Two offline tests cause IRDMA driver failure (ETIMEDOUT) and this failure is indicated back to i40e_client_subtask() that calls i40e_client_del_instance() to free client instance referenced by pf->cinst and sets this pointer to NULL. During the module removal i40e_remove() calls i40e_lan_del_device() that dereferences pf->cinst that is NULL -> crash. Do not remove client instance when client open callbacks fails and just clear __I40E_CLIENT_INSTANCE_OPENED bit. The driver also needs to take care about this situation (when netdev is up and client is NOT opened) in i40e_notify_client_of_netdev_close() and calls client close callback only when __I40E_CLIENT_INSTANCE_OPENED is set.

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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-476

The code follows a pointer that is null, crashing the process. An attacker who can reliably trigger it turns the crash into a denial of service. The fix is checking for null before use and handling the failure path gracefully.

General guidance for the null pointer dereference class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

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
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 4.12, < 4.19.258>= 4.20, < 5.4.213>= 5.5, < 5.10.143>= 5.11, < 5.15.68>= 5.16, < 5.19.9

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

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

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 4.19.258 / 5.4.213 / 5.10.143 or later
Fixed in 4.19.2585.4.2135.10.143
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Any of: 4.19.258+, 5.4.213+, 5.10.143+, or 5.15.68+ (5.15.68+ recommended for longest support)

  1. Upgrade Linux kernel to a fixed version: 4.19.258 or later, 5.4.213 or later, 5.10.143 or later, or 5.15.68 or later
  2. After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  3. Verify the fix is applied by checking kernel version: `uname -r`
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require matching kernel modules and could have compatibility impacts with userspace tools; ensure related modules like i40e are rebuilt for the new kernel

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

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $2,850. Get the upgrade done

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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

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