#VU94441 NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2022-48793

Vulnerability identifier: #VU94441

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-2022-48793

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 NULL pointer dereference within the svm_set_nested_state() function in arch/x86/kvm/svm/nested.c. A local user can perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: 5.15, 5.15 rc1, 5.15 rc2, 5.15 rc3, 5.15 rc4, 5.15 rc5, 5.15 rc6, 5.15 rc7, 5.15.0, 5.15.1, 5.15.2, 5.15.3, 5.15.4, 5.15.5, 5.15.6, 5.15.7, 5.15.8, 5.15.9, 5.15.10, 5.15.11, 5.15.12, 5.15.13, 5.15.14, 5.15.15, 5.15.16, 5.15.17, 5.15.18, 5.15.19, 5.15.20, 5.15.21, 5.15.22, 5.15.23, 5.15.24, 5.16, 5.16 rc1, 5.16 rc2, 5.16 rc3, 5.16 rc4, 5.16 rc5, 5.16 rc6, 5.16 rc8, 5.16.0, 5.16.1, 5.16.2, 5.16.3, 5.16.4, 5.16.5, 5.16.6, 5.16.7, 5.16.8, 5.16.9, 5.16.10, 5.17 rc1, 5.17 rc2, 5.17 rc3, 5.17 rc4, 5.17 rc5, 5.17 rc6, 5.17 rc7, 5.17 rc8, 5.17 rc9, 5.17 rc12

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External links
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/74b426bea4f7e3b081add2b88d4fba16d3af7ab6
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/352193edda48e08e8824a7ece09aec830a603cfe
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e1779c2714c3023e4629825762bcbc43a3b943df
https://mirrors.edge.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.15.25
https://mirrors.edge.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.16.11
https://mirrors.edge.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.17

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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.