Linux: Use After Free
CVE-2022-49093 is a critical-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. The record lists versions ba965e8605aee5387cecaa28fcf7ee9f61779a49, c4fa19615806a9a7e518c295b39175aa47a685ac, 72bb856d16e883437023ff2ff77d0c498018728a as the first without the flaw, so updating Linux to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.63% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 51% of scored CVEs.
Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.
What to do
- Update Linux to ba965e8605aee5387cecaa28fcf7ee9f61779a49 or c4fa19615806a9a7e518c295b39175aa47a685ac or 72bb856d16e883437023ff2ff77d0c498018728a or 1effe8ca4e34c34cdd9318436a4232dcb582ebf4, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Linux Kernel to 5.15.34 or 5.16.20 or 5.17.3, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 53e0961da1c7bbdabd1abebb20de403ec237ec09 up to, but not including, ba965e8605aee5387cecaa28fcf7ee9f61779a49; 53e0961da1c7bbdabd1abebb20de403ec237ec09 up to, but not including, c4fa19615806a9a7e518c295b39175aa47a685ac; 53e0961da1c7bbdabd1abebb20de403ec237ec09 up to, but not including, 72bb856d16e883437023ff2ff77d0c498018728a; 53e0961da1c7bbdabd1abebb20de403ec237ec09 up to, but not including, 1effe8ca4e34c34cdd9318436a4232dcb582ebf4; 5.15 | ba965e8605aee5387cecaa28fcf7ee9f61779a49, c4fa19615806a9a7e518c295b39175aa47a685ac, 72bb856d16e883437023ff2ff77d0c498018728a, 1effe8ca4e34c34cdd9318436a4232dcb582ebf4 |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | 5.15 up to, but not including, 5.15.34; 5.16 up to, but not including, 5.16.20; 5.17 up to, but not including, 5.17.3; 5.18 | 5.15.34, 5.16.20, 5.17.3 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA.
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 9.8 | Critical | CNA |
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.8 | High | CISA (ADP) |
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: skbuff: fix coalescing for page_pool fragment recycling Fix a use-after-free when using page_pool with page fragments. We encountered this problem during normal RX in the hns3 driver: (1) Initially we have three descriptors in the RX queue. The first one allocates PAGE1 through page_pool, and the other two allocate one half of PAGE2 each. Page references look like this: RX_BD1 _______ PAGE1 RX_BD2 _______ PAGE2 RX_BD3 _________/ (2) Handle RX on the first descriptor. Allocate SKB1, eventually added to the receive queue by tcp_queue_rcv(). (3) Handle RX on the second descriptor. Allocate SKB2 and pass it to netif_receive_skb(): netif_receive_skb(SKB2) ip_rcv(SKB2) SKB3 = skb_clone(SKB2) SKB2 and SKB3 share a reference to PAGE2 through skb_shinfo()->dataref. The other ref to PAGE2 is still held by RX_BD3: SKB2 ---+- PAGE2 SKB3 __/ / RX_BD3 _________/ (3b) Now while handling TCP, coalesce SKB3 with SKB1: tcp_v4_rcv(SKB3) tcp_try_coalesce(to=SKB1, from=SKB3) // succeeds kfree_skb_partial(SKB3) skb_release_data(SKB3) // drops one dataref SKB1 _____ PAGE1 \____ SKB2 _____ PAGE2 / RX_BD3 _________/ In skb_try_coalesce(), __skb_frag_ref() takes a page reference to PAGE2, where it should instead have increased the page_pool frag reference, pp_frag_count. Without coalescing, when releasing both SKB2 and SKB3, a single reference to PAGE2 would be dropped. Now when releasing SKB1 and SKB2, two references to PAGE2 will be dropped, resulting in underflow. (3c) Drop SKB2: af_packet_rcv(SKB2) consume_skb(SKB2) skb_release_data(SKB2) // drops second dataref page_pool_return_skb_page(PAGE2) // drops one pp_frag_count SKB1 _____ PAGE1 \____ PAGE2 / RX_BD3 _________/ (4) Userspace calls recvmsg() Copies SKB1 and releases it. Since SKB3 was coalesced with SKB1, we release the SKB3 page as well: tcp_eat_recv_skb(SKB1) skb_release_data(SKB1) page_pool_return_skb_page(PAGE1) page_pool_return_skb_page(PAGE2) // drops second pp_frag_count (5) PAGE2 is freed, but the third RX descriptor was still using it! In our case this causes IOMMU faults, but it would silently corrupt memory if the IOMMU was disabled. Change the logic that checks whether pp_recycle SKBs can be coalesced. We still reject differing pp_recycle between 'from' and 'to' SKBs, but in order to avoid the situation described above, we also reject coalescing when both 'from' and 'to' are pp_recycled and 'from' is cloned. The new logic allows coalescing a cloned pp_recycle SKB into a page refcounted one, because in this case the release (4) will drop the right reference, the one taken by skb_try_coalesce().
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Use After Free
The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory belongs to the code that operates on the new pointer.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
- When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Patches and release notes
Recent Use After Free vulnerabilities
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