CVE-2022-49546
Linux Kernel x86 Kexec Memory Leak
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/kexec: fix memory leak of elf header buffer This is reported by kmemleak detector: unreferenced object 0xffffc900002a9000 (size 4096): comm "kexec", pid 14950, jiffies 4295110793 (age 373.951s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 7f 45 4c 46 02 01 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 .ELF............ 04 00 3e 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ..>............. backtrace: [<0000000016a8ef9f>] __vmalloc_node_range+0x101/0x170 [<000000002b66b6c0>] __vmalloc_node+0xb4/0x160 [<00000000ad40107d>] crash_prepare_elf64_headers+0x8e/0xcd0 [<0000000019afff23>] crash_load_segments+0x260/0x470 [<0000000019ebe95c>] bzImage64_load+0x814/0xad0 [<0000000093e16b05>] arch_kexec_kernel_image_load+0x1be/0x2a0 [<000000009ef2fc88>] kimage_file_alloc_init+0x2ec/0x5a0 [<0000000038f5a97a>] __do_sys_kexec_file_load+0x28d/0x530 [<0000000087c19992>] do_syscall_64+0x3b/0x90 [<0000000066e063a4>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae In crash_prepare_elf64_headers(), a buffer is allocated via vmalloc() to store elf headers. While it's not freed back to system correctly when kdump kernel is reloaded or unloaded. Then memory leak is caused. Fix it by introducing x86 specific function arch_kimage_file_post_load_cleanup(), and freeing the buffer there. And also remove the incorrect elf header buffer freeing code. Before calling arch specific kexec_file loading function, the image instance has been initialized. So 'image->elf_headers' must be NULL. It doesn't make sense to free the elf header buffer in the place. Three different people have reported three bugs about the memory leak on x86_64 inside Redhat.
INFO
Published Date :
Feb. 26, 2025, 7:01 a.m.
Last Modified :
April 10, 2025, 1:15 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | [email protected] |
Solution
- Apply the kernel patch to fix the memory leak.
- Ensure elf header buffers are freed correctly.
- Remove incorrect elf header buffer freeing code.
- Update the Linux kernel to the latest version.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2022-49546.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2022-49546 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2022-49546
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2022-49546 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2022-49546 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
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CVE Modified by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Apr. 10, 2025
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/23cf39dccf7653650701a6f39b119e9116a27f1a -
Initial Analysis by [email protected]
Mar. 10, 2025
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Added CWE CWE-401 Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 5.16 from (excluding) 5.17.14 *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 5.18 from (excluding) 5.18.3 *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (excluding) 5.15.46 Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/115ee42a4c2f26ba2b4ace2668a3f004621f6833 Types: Patch Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8765a423a87d74ef24ea02b43b2728fe4039f248 Types: Patch Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b3e34a47f98974d0844444c5121aaff123004e57 Types: Patch Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f675e3a9189d84a9324ab45b0cb19906c2bc8fcb Types: Patch -
New CVE Received by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Feb. 26, 2025
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/kexec: fix memory leak of elf header buffer This is reported by kmemleak detector: unreferenced object 0xffffc900002a9000 (size 4096): comm "kexec", pid 14950, jiffies 4295110793 (age 373.951s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 7f 45 4c 46 02 01 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 .ELF............ 04 00 3e 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ..>............. backtrace: [<0000000016a8ef9f>] __vmalloc_node_range+0x101/0x170 [<000000002b66b6c0>] __vmalloc_node+0xb4/0x160 [<00000000ad40107d>] crash_prepare_elf64_headers+0x8e/0xcd0 [<0000000019afff23>] crash_load_segments+0x260/0x470 [<0000000019ebe95c>] bzImage64_load+0x814/0xad0 [<0000000093e16b05>] arch_kexec_kernel_image_load+0x1be/0x2a0 [<000000009ef2fc88>] kimage_file_alloc_init+0x2ec/0x5a0 [<0000000038f5a97a>] __do_sys_kexec_file_load+0x28d/0x530 [<0000000087c19992>] do_syscall_64+0x3b/0x90 [<0000000066e063a4>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae In crash_prepare_elf64_headers(), a buffer is allocated via vmalloc() to store elf headers. While it's not freed back to system correctly when kdump kernel is reloaded or unloaded. Then memory leak is caused. Fix it by introducing x86 specific function arch_kimage_file_post_load_cleanup(), and freeing the buffer there. And also remove the incorrect elf header buffer freeing code. Before calling arch specific kexec_file loading function, the image instance has been initialized. So 'image->elf_headers' must be NULL. It doesn't make sense to free the elf header buffer in the place. Three different people have reported three bugs about the memory leak on x86_64 inside Redhat. Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/115ee42a4c2f26ba2b4ace2668a3f004621f6833 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8765a423a87d74ef24ea02b43b2728fe4039f248 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b3e34a47f98974d0844444c5121aaff123004e57 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f675e3a9189d84a9324ab45b0cb19906c2bc8fcb