CVE-2022-50091: linux kernel vulnerability

What is known

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: locking/csd_lock: Change csdlock_debug from early_param to __setup The csdlock_debug kernel-boot parameter is parsed by the early_param() function csdlock_debug(). If set, csdlock_debug() invokes static_branch_enable() to enable csd_lock_wait feature, which triggers a panic on arm64 for kernels built with CONFIG_SPARSEMEM=y and CONFIG_SPARSEMEM_VMEMMAP=n. With CONFIG_SPARSEMEM_VMEMMAP=n, __nr_to_section is called in static_key_enable() and returns NULL, resulting in a NULL dereference because mem_section is initialized only later in sparse_init(). This is also a problem for powerpc because early_param() functions are invoked earlier than jump_label_init(), also resulting in static_key_enable() failures. These failures cause the warning "static key 'xxx' used before call to jump_label_init()". Thus, early_param is too early for csd_lock_wait to run static_branch_enable(), so changes it to __setup to fix these.

Business impact

Successful exploitation of CVE-2022-50091, 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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