NULL pointer dereference in Linux

CVE-2022-48865

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tipc: fix kernel panic when enabling bearer When enabling a bearer on a node, a kernel panic is observed: [ 4.498085] RIP: 0010:tipc_mon_prep+0x4e/0x130 [tipc] ... [ 4.520030] Call Trace: [ 4.520689] <IRQ> [ 4.521236] tipc_link_build_proto_msg+0x375/0x750 [tipc] [ 4.522654] tipc_link_build_state_msg+0x48/0xc0 [tipc] [ 4.524034] __tipc_node_link_up+0xd7/0x290 [tipc] [ 4.525292] tipc_rcv+0x5da/0x730 [tipc] [ 4.526346] ? __netif_receive_skb_core+0xb7/0xfc0 [ 4.527601] tipc_l2_rcv_msg+0x5e/0x90 [tipc] [ 4.528737] __netif_receive_skb_list_core+0x20b/0x260 [ 4.530068] netif_receive_skb_list_internal+0x1bf/0x2e0 [ 4.531450] ? dev_gro_receive+0x4c2/0x680 [ 4.532512] napi_complete_done+0x6f/0x180 [ 4.533570] virtnet_poll+0x29c/0x42e [virtio_net] ... The node in question is receiving activate messages in another thread after changing bearer status to allow message sending/ receiving in current thread: thread 1 | thread 2 -------- | -------- | tipc_enable_bearer() | test_and_set_bit_lock() | tipc_bearer_xmit_skb() | | tipc_l2_rcv_msg() | tipc_rcv() | __tipc_node_link_up() | tipc_link_build_state_msg() | tipc_link_build_proto_msg() | tipc_mon_prep() | { | ... | // null-pointer dereference | u16 gen = mon->dom_gen; | ... | } // Not being executed yet | tipc_mon_create() | { | ... | // allocate | mon = kzalloc(); | ... | } | Monitoring pointer in thread 2 is dereferenced before monitoring data is allocated in thread 1. This causes kernel panic. This commit fixes it by allocating the monitoring data before enabling the bearer to receive messages.

EPSS: 0.003 (17.6th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2022-48865?
CVE-2022-48865 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2024-07-16.
How severe is CVE-2022-48865?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.
Is CVE-2022-48865 known to be exploited?
1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.