CVE-2022-49214: linux kernel Null Dereference — Fix

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: powerpc/64s: Don't use DSISR for SLB faults Since commit 46ddcb3950a2 ("powerpc/mm: Show if a bad page fault on data is read or write.") we use page_fault_is_write(regs->dsisr) in __bad_page_fault() to determine if the fault is for a read or write, and change the message printed accordingly. But SLB faults, aka Data Segment Interrupts, don't set DSISR (Data Storage Interrupt Status Register) to a useful value. All ISA versions from v2.03 through v3.1 specify that the Data Segment Interrupt sets DSISR "to an undefined value". As far as I can see there's no mention of SLB faults setting DSISR in any BookIV content either. This manifests as accesses that should be a read being incorrectly reported as writes, for example, using the xmon "dump" command: 0:mon> d 0x5deadbeef0000000 5deadbeef0000000 [359526.415354][ C6] BUG: Unable to handle kernel data access on write at 0x5deadbeef0000000 [359526.415611][ C6] Faulting instruction address: 0xc00000000010a300 cpu 0x6: Vector: 380 (Data SLB Access) at [c00000000ffbf400] pc: c00000000010a300: mread+0x90/0x190 If we disassemble the PC, we see a load instruction: 0:mon> di c00000000010a300 c00000000010a300 89490000 lbz r10,0(r9) We can also see in exceptions-64s.S that the data_access_slb block doesn't set IDSISR=1, which means it doesn't load DSISR into pt_regs. So the value we're using to determine if the fault is a read/write is some stale value in pt_regs from a previous page fault. Rework the printing logic to separate the SLB fault case out, and only print read/write in the cases where we can determine it. The result looks like eg: 0:mon> d 0x5deadbeef0000000 5deadbeef0000000 [ 721.779525][ C6] BUG: Unable to handle kernel data access at 0x5deadbeef0000000 [ 721.779697][ C6] Faulting instruction address: 0xc00000000014cbe0 cpu 0x6: Vector: 380 (Data SLB Access) at [c00000000ffbf390] 0:mon> d 0 0000000000000000 [ 742.793242][ C6] BUG: Kernel NULL pointer dereference at 0x00000000 [ 742.793316][ C6] Faulting instruction address: 0xc00000000014cbe0 cpu 0x6: Vector: 380 (Data SLB Access) at [c00000000ffbf390]

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CVSS v3.1 Score

5.5

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-476 CWE-476

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
linux	linux_kernel	5.5 — 5.15.33
linux	linux_kernel	5.16 — 5.16.19
linux	linux_kernel	5.17 — 5.17.2

References

Advisories & Patches

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/093449bb182db885dae816d62874cccab7a4c42a https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4a852ff9b7bea9c640540e2c1bc70bd3ba455d61 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a3dae36d632b2cf6eb20314273e512a96cb43c9a https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d4679ac8ea2e5078704aa1c026db36580cc1bf9a

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-49214? +

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: powerpc/64s: Don't use DSISR for SLB faults Since commit 46ddcb3950a2 ("powerpc/mm: Show if a bad page fault on data is read or write.") we use page_fault_is_write(regs->dsisr) in __bad_page_fault() to determine if the fault is for a read or write, and change the message printed accordingly. But SLB faults, aka Data Segment Interrupts, don't set DSISR (Data Storage Interrupt Status Register) to a useful value. All ISA versions from v2.03 through v3.1 specify that the Data Segment Interrupt sets DSISR "to an undefined value". As far as I can see there's no mention of SLB faults setting DSISR in any BookIV content either. This manifests as accesses that should be a read being incorrectly reported as writes, for example, using the xmon "dump" command: 0:mon> d 0x5deadbeef0000000 5deadbeef0000000 [359526.415354][ C6] BUG: Unable to handle kernel data access on write at 0x5deadbeef0000000 [359526.415611][ C6] Faulting instruction address: 0xc00000000010a300 cpu 0x6: Vector: 380 (Data SLB Access) at [c00000000ffbf400] pc: c00000000010a300: mread+0x90/0x190 If we disassemble the PC, we see a load instruction: 0:mon> di c00000000010a300 c00000000010a300 89490000 lbz r10,0(r9) We can also see in exceptions-64s.S that the data_access_slb block doesn't set IDSISR=1, which means it doesn't load DSISR into pt_regs. So the value we're using to determine if the fault is a read/write is some stale value in pt_regs from a previous page fault. Rework the printing logic to separate the SLB fault case out, and only print read/write in the cases where we can determine it. The result looks like eg: 0:mon> d 0x5deadbeef0000000 5deadbeef0000000 [ 721.779525][ C6] BUG: Unable to handle kernel data access at 0x5deadbeef0000000 [ 721.779697][ C6] Faulting instruction address: 0xc00000000014cbe0 cpu 0x6: Vector: 380 (Data SLB Access) at [c00000000ffbf390] 0:mon> d 0 0000000000000000 [ 742.793242][ C6] BUG: Kernel NULL pointer dereference at 0x00000000 [ 742.793316][ C6] Faulting instruction address: 0xc00000000014cbe0 cpu 0x6: Vector: 380 (Data SLB Access) at [c00000000ffbf390] It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2022-49214? +

CVE-2022-49214 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.5 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.

What products are affected by CVE-2022-49214? +

CVE-2022-49214 affects products from linux, specifically: linux_kernel. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2022-49214? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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