Linux Kernel up to 5.15.33/5.16.19/5.17.2 store_cpu_topology null pointer dereference

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 5.15.33/5.16.19/5.17.2. It has been classified as critical. This issue affects the function store_cpu_topology. The manipulation leads to null pointer dereference. This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2022-49090. There is no available exploit. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 5.15.33/5.16.19/5.17.2. It has been rated as critical. This issue affects the function store_cpu_topology. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-476. A NULL pointer dereference occurs when the application dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid, but is NULL, typically causing a crash or exit. Impacted is availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: arch/arm64: Fix topology initialization for core scheduling Arm64 systems rely on store_cpu_topology() to call update_siblings_masks() to transfer the toplogy to the various cpu masks. This needs to be done before the call to notify_cpu_starting() which tells the scheduler about each cpu found, otherwise the core scheduling data structures are setup in a way that does not match the actual topology. With smt_mask not setup correctly we bail on `cpumask_weight(smt_mask) == 1` for !leaders in: notify_cpu_starting() cpuhp_invoke_callback_range() sched_cpu_starting() sched_core_cpu_starting() which leads to rq->core not being correctly set for !leader-rq's. Without this change stress-ng (which enables core scheduling in its prctl tests in newer versions -- i.e. with PR_SCHED_CORE support) causes a warning and then a crash (trimmed for legibility): [ 1853.805168] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [ 1853.809784] task_rq(b)->core != rq->core [ 1853.809792] WARNING: CPU: 117 PID: 0 at kernel/sched/fair.c:11102 cfs_prio_less+0x1b4/0x1c4 ... [ 1854.015210] Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000010 ... [ 1854.231256] Call trace: [ 1854.233689] pick_next_task+0x3dc/0x81c [ 1854.237512] __schedule+0x10c/0x4cc [ 1854.240988] schedule_idle+0x34/0x54

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2022-49090 since 02/26/2025. The exploitation is known to be difficult. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit.

Upgrading to version 5.15.34, 5.16.20 or 5.17.3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 87f5d66daa5f457449bb95d6b8d18bb7596aa627/790c1567582bda8f1153015436e3330a7c6eb278/c78a1b2d0bff678570c8dc9f14035606f5e5257d/5524cbb1bfcdff0cad0aaa9f94e6092002a07259 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.15.0
• 5.15.1
• 5.15.2
• 5.15.3
• 5.15.4
• 5.15.5
• 5.15.6
• 5.15.7
• 5.15.8
• 5.15.9
• 5.15.10
• 5.15.11
• 5.15.12
• 5.15.13
• 5.15.14
• 5.15.15
• 5.15.16
• 5.15.17
• 5.15.18
• 5.15.19
• 5.15.20
• 5.15.21
• 5.15.22
• 5.15.23
• 5.15.24
• 5.15.25
• 5.15.26
• 5.15.27
• 5.15.28
• 5.15.29
• 5.15.30
• 5.15.31
• 5.15.32
• 5.15.33
• 5.16.0
• 5.16.1
• 5.16.2
• 5.16.3
• 5.16.4
• 5.16.5
• 5.16.6
• 5.16.7
• 5.16.8
• 5.16.9
• 5.16.10
• 5.16.11
• 5.16.12
• 5.16.13
• 5.16.14
• 5.16.15
• 5.16.16
• 5.16.17
• 5.16.18
• 5.16.19
• 5.17.0
• 5.17.1
• 5.17.2

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

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