CVE-2022-49446: linux kernel vulnerability

What is known

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nvdimm: Fix firmware activation deadlock scenarios Lockdep reports the following deadlock scenarios for CXL root device power-management, device_prepare(), operations, and device_shutdown() operations for 'nd_region' devices: Chain exists of: &nvdimm_region_key --> &nvdimm_bus->reconfig_mutex --> system_transition_mutex Possible unsafe locking scenario: CPU0 CPU1 ---- ---- lock(system_transition_mutex); lock(&nvdimm_bus->reconfig_mutex); lock(system_transition_mutex); lock(&nvdimm_region_key); Chain exists of: &cxl_nvdimm_bridge_key --> acpi_scan_lock --> &cxl_root_key Possible unsafe locking scenario: CPU0 CPU1 ---- ---- lock(&cxl_root_key); lock(acpi_scan_lock); lock(&cxl_root_key); lock(&cxl_nvdimm_bridge_key); These stem from holding nvdimm_bus_lock() over hibernate_quiet_exec() which walks the entire system device topology taking device_lock() along the way. The nvdimm_bus_lock() is protecting against unregistration, multiple simultaneous ops callers, and preventing activate_show() from racing activate_store(). For the first 2, the lock is redundant. Unregistration already flushes all ops users, and sysfs already prevents multiple threads to be active in an ops handler at the same time. For the last userspace should already be waiting for its last activate_store() to complete, and does not need activate_show() to flush the write side, so this lock usage can be deleted in these attributes.

Business impact

Successful exploitation of CVE-2022-49446, a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.5) affecting linux kernel, may affect the confidentiality, integrity or availability of the vulnerable environment. The exact impact depends on the installed version, exposed interfaces and deployment configuration.

Recommended administrator action

Confirm whether linux kernel is present and compare installed versions with the vendor advisory and NVD record. Apply the vendor patch or documented mitigation; until remediation is complete, reduce exposure of affected interfaces, review relevant logs and monitor for indicators of exploitation. DataHouse can support version verification, managed patching, network exposure reduction, log review and backup validation for dedicated, cloud and colocated environments.

Sources

• NVD
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