CVE-2022-48995 in Linux
Summary
by MITRE • 10/21/2024
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
Input: raydium_ts_i2c - fix memory leak in raydium_i2c_send()
There is a kmemleak when test the raydium_i2c_ts with bpf mock device:
unreferenced object 0xffff88812d3675a0 (size 8): comm "python3", pid 349, jiffies 4294741067 (age 95.695s) hex dump (first 8 bytes): 11 0e 10 c0 01 00 04 00 ........ backtrace: [] __kmalloc+0x46/0x1b0
[] raydium_i2c_send+0xd4/0x2bf [raydium_i2c_ts]
[] raydium_i2c_initialize.cold+0xbc/0x3e4 [raydium_i2c_ts]
[] raydium_i2c_probe+0x3cd/0x6bc [raydium_i2c_ts]
[] i2c_device_probe+0x651/0x680
[] really_probe+0x17c/0x3f0
[] __driver_probe_device+0xe3/0x170
[] driver_probe_device+0x49/0x120
[] __device_attach_driver+0xf7/0x150
[] bus_for_each_drv+0x114/0x180
[] __device_attach+0x1e5/0x2d0
[] bus_probe_device+0x126/0x140
[] device_add+0x810/0x1130
[] i2c_new_client_device+0x352/0x4e0
[] of_i2c_register_device+0xf1/0x110
[] of_i2c_notify+0x100/0x160
unreferenced object 0xffff88812d3675c8 (size 8): comm "python3", pid 349, jiffies 4294741070 (age 95.692s) hex dump (first 8 bytes): 22 00 36 2d 81 88 ff ff ".6-.... backtrace: [] __kmalloc+0x46/0x1b0
[] raydium_i2c_send+0xd4/0x2bf [raydium_i2c_ts]
[] raydium_i2c_initialize.cold+0x223/0x3e4 [raydium_i2c_ts]
[] raydium_i2c_probe+0x3cd/0x6bc [raydium_i2c_ts]
[] i2c_device_probe+0x651/0x680
[] really_probe+0x17c/0x3f0
[] __driver_probe_device+0xe3/0x170
[] driver_probe_device+0x49/0x120
[] __device_attach_driver+0xf7/0x150
[] bus_for_each_drv+0x114/0x180
[] __device_attach+0x1e5/0x2d0
[] bus_probe_device+0x126/0x140
[] device_add+0x810/0x1130
[] i2c_new_client_device+0x352/0x4e0
[] of_i2c_register_device+0xf1/0x110
[] of_i2c_notify+0x100/0x160
After BANK_SWITCH command from i2c BUS, no matter success or error happened, the tx_buf should be freed.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/18/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-48995 represents a memory leak in the Linux kernel's raydium_i2c_ts touchscreen driver module. This issue manifests specifically within the raydium_i2c_send function where allocated memory is not properly released after I2C communication operations. The vulnerability was detected through kernel memory leak analysis using kmemleak tools during testing with BPF mock devices, indicating that memory allocated via __kmalloc is being orphaned and never freed. The technical flaw occurs in the driver's handling of I2C transaction buffers, particularly when processing BANK_SWITCH commands over the I2C bus where the tx_buf memory allocation lacks proper cleanup regardless of whether the operation succeeds or fails. This memory management error directly violates the principle of resource acquisition is initialization and creates persistent memory leaks that can accumulate over time, potentially leading to system instability or performance degradation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple memory consumption issues to potentially affect system reliability and resource availability. When the raydium_i2c_send function processes I2C commands including BANK_SWITCH operations, the failure to free tx_buf memory creates unreferenced objects that persist in kernel memory. The backtrace analysis shows the leak occurring in the raydium_i2c_initialize.cold function which is called during driver initialization, suggesting that each device probe operation can potentially create memory leaks. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-401: Improper Release of Memory and falls under the ATT&CK technique T1070.004: File and Registry Permission Changes, as it represents a resource management flaw that could be exploited to exhaust system memory over time. The specific memory leak pattern indicates that the driver does not properly handle error paths in I2C communication, where memory allocated for transaction buffers is not freed even when communication errors occur.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate code fixes to ensure proper memory management within the raydium_i2c_ts driver. The fix should implement proper error handling and resource cleanup in the raydium_i2c_send function, specifically ensuring that tx_buf memory is freed after every I2C transaction regardless of success or failure status. This can be achieved by adding explicit free operations after BANK_SWITCH command processing and other I2C communication sequences. System administrators should apply kernel updates containing the patched driver implementation as soon as available, while monitoring for memory leaks using kernel debugging tools and kmemleak reporting mechanisms. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of thorough testing with mock devices and BPF frameworks to identify such memory management issues before deployment in production environments. Additionally, implementing proper kernel memory debugging and monitoring systems can help detect similar issues in other touchscreen and I2C driver modules, ensuring comprehensive system security and stability.