Linux Kernel up to 5.16.18/5.17.1 flush_cache_pages memory corruption

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability categorized as critical has been discovered in Linux Kernel up to 5.16.18/5.17.1. This impacts the function flush_cache_pages. The manipulation results in memory corruption. This vulnerability was named CVE-2022-49172. There is no available exploit. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 5.16.18/5.17.1. It has been classified as critical. Affected is the function flush_cache_pages. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a memory corruption vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-119. The product performs operations on a memory buffer, but it can read from or write to a memory location that is outside of the intended boundary of the buffer. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: parisc: Fix non-access data TLB cache flush faults When a page is not present, we get non-access data TLB faults from the fdc and fic instructions in flush_user_dcache_range_asm and flush_user_icache_range_asm. When these occur, the cache line is not invalidated and potentially we get memory corruption. The problem was hidden by the nullification of the flush instructions. These faults also affect performance. With pa8800/pa8900 processors, there will be 32 faults per 4 KB page since the cache line is 128 bytes. There will be more faults with earlier processors. The problem is fixed by using flush_cache_pages(). It does the flush using a tmp alias mapping. The flush_cache_pages() call in flush_cache_range() flushed too large a range. V2: Remove unnecessary preempt_disable() and preempt_enable() calls.

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2022-49172 since 02/26/2025. The exploitability is told to be easy. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit. The structure of the vulnerability defines a possible price range of USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 02/26/2025).

Upgrading to version 5.16.19 or 5.17.2 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch b3d6adb3a49d82e4e557c5fc16f50c9ff731da5d/ddca4b82027e2a66333dd40fab21a4beff435c7e/f839e5f1cef36ce268950c387129b1bfefdaebc9 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

• 5.16.0
• 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
• 5.17.0
• 5.17.1

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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