Linux: Use After Free
CVE-2022-49412 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 5ee21edaed09e6b25f2c007b3f326752bc89bacf, a16c65cca7d2c7ff965fdd3adc8df2156529caf1, 8abc8763b11c35e03cc91d59fd0cd28d39f88ca9 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 0.28% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Linux to 5ee21edaed09e6b25f2c007b3f326752bc89bacf or a16c65cca7d2c7ff965fdd3adc8df2156529caf1 or 8abc8763b11c35e03cc91d59fd0cd28d39f88ca9 or c1cee4ab36acef271be9101590756ed0c0c374d9, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Linux Kernel to 5.4.198 or 5.10.121 or 5.15.46 or 5.17.14, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 430a67f9d6169a7b3e328bceb2ef9542e4153c7c up to, but not including, 5ee21edaed09e6b25f2c007b3f326752bc89bacf; 430a67f9d6169a7b3e328bceb2ef9542e4153c7c up to, but not including, a16c65cca7d2c7ff965fdd3adc8df2156529caf1; 430a67f9d6169a7b3e328bceb2ef9542e4153c7c up to, but not including, 8abc8763b11c35e03cc91d59fd0cd28d39f88ca9; 430a67f9d6169a7b3e328bceb2ef9542e4153c7c up to, but not including, c1cee4ab36acef271be9101590756ed0c0c374d9; 5.13 | 5ee21edaed09e6b25f2c007b3f326752bc89bacf, a16c65cca7d2c7ff965fdd3adc8df2156529caf1, 8abc8763b11c35e03cc91d59fd0cd28d39f88ca9, c1cee4ab36acef271be9101590756ed0c0c374d9 |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | before 5.4.198; 5.5 up to, but not including, 5.10.121; 5.13 up to, but not including, 5.15.46; 5.16 up to, but not including, 5.17.14; 5.18 up to, but not including, 5.18.3 | 5.4.198, 5.10.121, 5.15.46, 5.17.14, 5.18.3 |
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
- LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- 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:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CISA (ADP).
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bfq: Avoid merging queues with different parents It can happen that the parent of a bfqq changes between the moment we decide two queues are worth to merge (and set bic->stable_merge_bfqq) and the moment bfq_setup_merge() is called. This can happen e.g. because the process submitted IO for a different cgroup and thus bfqq got reparented. It can even happen that the bfqq we are merging with has parent cgroup that is already offline and going to be destroyed in which case the merge can lead to use-after-free issues such as: BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in __bfq_deactivate_entity+0x9cb/0xa50 Read of size 8 at addr ffff88800693c0c0 by task runc:[2:INIT]/10544 CPU: 0 PID: 10544 Comm: runc:[2:INIT] Tainted: G E 5.15.2-0.g5fb85fd-default #1 openSUSE Tumbleweed (unreleased) f1f3b891c72369aebecd2e43e4641a6358867c70 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.14.0-0-g155821a-rebuilt.opensuse.org 04/01/2014 Call Trace: <IRQ> dump_stack_lvl+0x46/0x5a print_address_description.constprop.0+0x1f/0x140 ? __bfq_deactivate_entity+0x9cb/0xa50 kasan_report.cold+0x7f/0x11b ? __bfq_deactivate_entity+0x9cb/0xa50 __bfq_deactivate_entity+0x9cb/0xa50 ? update_curr+0x32f/0x5d0 bfq_deactivate_entity+0xa0/0x1d0 bfq_del_bfqq_busy+0x28a/0x420 ? resched_curr+0x116/0x1d0 ? bfq_requeue_bfqq+0x70/0x70 ? check_preempt_wakeup+0x52b/0xbc0 __bfq_bfqq_expire+0x1a2/0x270 bfq_bfqq_expire+0xd16/0x2160 ? try_to_wake_up+0x4ee/0x1260 ? bfq_end_wr_async_queues+0xe0/0xe0 ? _raw_write_unlock_bh+0x60/0x60 ? _raw_spin_lock_irq+0x81/0xe0 bfq_idle_slice_timer+0x109/0x280 ? bfq_dispatch_request+0x4870/0x4870 __hrtimer_run_queues+0x37d/0x700 ? enqueue_hrtimer+0x1b0/0x1b0 ? kvm_clock_get_cycles+0xd/0x10 ? ktime_get_update_offsets_now+0x6f/0x280 hrtimer_interrupt+0x2c8/0x740 Fix the problem by checking that the parent of the two bfqqs we are merging in bfq_setup_merge() is the same.
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
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
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