CVE-2022-50679
BaseFortify
Publication date: 2025-12-09
Last updated on: 2025-12-09
Assigner: kernel.org
Description
Description
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
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Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| intel | i40e | * |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-UNKNOWN |
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?
This vulnerability is a memory leak in the Linux kernel's i40e network driver related to DMA (Direct Memory Access) mappings. When RX buffers are reallocated, new DMA mappings are created but the old mappings are not properly freed, causing a leak. This happens because buffers with different RX ring counts replace older ones, but the freeing and reallocating process leads to already mapped DMA memory not being released. This can cause crashes due to memory allocation failures in the RX descriptor ring.
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
The vulnerability can cause the network driver to leak memory during RX buffer reallocation, which may lead to system instability or crashes. Specifically, it can result in the inability to allocate memory for the RX descriptor ring, causing driver bugs and warnings, and potentially impacting network functionality and system reliability.
How can this vulnerability be detected on my network or system? Can you suggest some commands?
This vulnerability can be detected by monitoring for crashes or memory allocation errors related to the i40e driver, specifically messages like 'Unable to allocate memory for the Rx descriptor ring' or warnings in kernel logs referencing i40e and xdp_rxq_info_unreg. The provided steps for reproduction include running a loop with ethtool commands to change RX and TX ring parameters, which may trigger the issue: while : do for ((i=0; i<=8160; i=i+32)) do ethtool -G enp130s0f0 rx $i tx $i sleep 0.5 ethtool -g enp130s0f0 done done Monitoring kernel logs (e.g., using dmesg or journalctl) for related warnings and errors can help detect the vulnerability in action.
What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?
Immediate mitigation involves updating the Linux kernel to a version where the i40e driver has the fix applied. The fix reallocates RX buffers properly when BPF programs are loaded or unloaded and manages XSK pools correctly to prevent DMA mapping leaks. Until an update is applied, avoid running workloads or commands that repeatedly change RX ring parameters on interfaces using the i40e driver, as this triggers the vulnerability.