Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2022-49067

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-02-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.4.190 / 5.10.111 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: powerpc: Fix virt_addr_valid() for 64-bit Book3E & 32-bit mpe: On 64-bit Book3E vmalloc space starts at 0x8000000000000000. Because of the way __pa() works we have: __pa(0x8000000000000000) == 0, and therefore virt_to_pfn(0x8000000000000000) == 0, and therefore virt_addr_valid(0x8000000000000000) == true Which is wrong, virt_addr_valid() should be false for vmalloc space. In fact all vmalloc addresses that alias with a valid PFN will return true from virt_addr_valid(). That can cause bugs with hardened usercopy as described below by Kefeng Wang: When running ethtool eth0 on 64-bit Book3E, a BUG occurred: usercopy: Kernel memory exposure attempt detected from SLUB object not in SLUB page?! (offset 0, size 1048)! kernel BUG at mm/usercopy.c:99 ... usercopy_abort+0x64/0xa0 (unreliable) __check_heap_object+0x168/0x190 __check_object_size+0x1a0/0x200 dev_ethtool+0x2494/0x2b20 dev_ioctl+0x5d0/0x770 sock_do_ioctl+0xf0/0x1d0 sock_ioctl+0x3ec/0x5a0 __se_sys_ioctl+0xf0/0x160 system_call_exception+0xfc/0x1f0 system_call_common+0xf8/0x200 The code shows below, data = vzalloc(array_size(gstrings.len, ETH_GSTRING_LEN)); copy_to_user(useraddr, data, gstrings.len * ETH_GSTRING_LEN)) The data is alloced by vmalloc(), virt_addr_valid(ptr) will return true on 64-bit Book3E, which leads to the panic. As commit 4dd7554a6456 ("powerpc/64: Add VIRTUAL_BUG_ON checks for __va and __pa addresses") does, make sure the virt addr above PAGE_OFFSET in the virt_addr_valid() for 64-bit, also add upper limit check to make sure the virt is below high_memory. Meanwhile, for 32-bit PAGE_OFFSET is the virtual address of the start of lowmem, high_memory is the upper low virtual address, the check is suitable for 32-bit, this will fix the issue mentioned in commit 602946ec2f90 ("powerpc: Set max_mapnr correctly") too. On 32-bit there is a similar problem with high memory, that was fixed in commit 602946ec2f90 ("powerpc: Set max_mapnr correctly"), but that commit breaks highmem and needs to be reverted. We can't easily fix __pa(), we have code that relies on its current behaviour. So for now add extra checks to virt_addr_valid(). For 64-bit Book3S the extra checks are not necessary, the combination of virt_to_pfn() and pfn_valid() should yield the correct result, but they are harmless. [mpe: Add additional change log detail]

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

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

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:< 5.4.190>= 5.5, < 5.10.111>= 5.11, < 5.15.34>= 5.16, < 5.16.20>= 5.17, < 5.17.3= 5.18

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 5.4.190 / 5.10.111 / 5.15.34 or later
Fixed in 5.4.1905.10.1115.15.34
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel 5.15.34 or later (LTS), or to the latest stable kernel (6.x series)

  1. 1. Identify the currently running Linux kernel version using 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version'
  2. 2. Determine if the system is running a affected powerpc kernel version (< 5.4.190, 5.5-5.10.110, 5.11-5.15.33, or 5.16-5.16.19)
  3. 3. For production systems, check with the distribution vendor for their patched kernel release that includes the fix (commit a3727c25eacd7e437c4f560957fa3a376fe93e6b)
  4. 4. If self-building the kernel, apply the fix by backporting commit a3727c25eacd7e437c4f560957fa3a376fe93e6b to the affected kernel source
  5. 5. Rebuild and reboot into the patched kernel
  6. 6. Verify the fix by confirming virt_addr_valid() now returns false for vmalloc addresses on 64-bit Book3E (e.g., virt_addr_valid(0x8000000000000000) should return 0/false)
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuilding out-of-tree kernel modules; ensure driver compatibility before upgrading

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 $1,600. 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.

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