#VU70501 NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2022-40476

Vulnerability identifier: #VU70501

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-2022-40476

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 in fs/io_uring.c. A local user can perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: before 5.15.62, 5.15.62

---

External links
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/fs/io_uring.c?h=v5.15.61&id=3746d62ecf1c872a520c4866118edccb121c44fd
https://mirrors.edge.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.15.62
https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/CAO4S-mdVW5GkODk0+vbQexNAAJZopwzFJ9ACvRCJ989fQ4A6Ow@mail.gmail.com/

---

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.