#VU61270 NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2022-25258

Vulnerability identifier: #VU61270

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 4.3 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2022-25258

CWE-ID: CWE-476

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Linux kernel
Operating systems & Components / Operating system

Vendor: Linux Foundation

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

The vulnerability exists due to a NULL pointer dereference error drivers/usb/gadget/composite.c in the Linux kernel. The USB Gadget subsystem lacks certain validation of interface OS descriptor requests (ones with a large array index and ones associated with NULL function pointer retrieval). A local user can run a specially crafted program to trigger memory corruption and perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: before 5.16.10, 5.16.10

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External links
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/75e5b4849b81e19e9efe1654b30d7f3151c33c2c
https://github.com/szymonh/d-os-descriptor
https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.16.10
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/TCW2KZYJ2H6BKZE3CVLHRIXYDGNYYC5P/
https://www.debian.org/security/2022/dsa-5096
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/03/msg00012.html
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/03/msg00011.html
https://www.debian.org/security/2022/dsa-5092

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.