CVE-2022-50849
Unknown Unknown - Not Provided
Kernel Oops Vulnerability in Linux pstore ram backend via kmap_atomic

Publication date: 2025-12-30

Last updated on: 2025-12-30

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: pstore: Avoid kcore oops by vmap()ing with VM_IOREMAP An oops can be induced by running 'cat /proc/kcore > /dev/null' on devices using pstore with the ram backend because kmap_atomic() assumes lowmem pages are accessible with __va(). Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address ffffff807ff2b000 Mem abort info: ESR = 0x96000006 EC = 0x25: DABT (current EL), IL = 32 bits SET = 0, FnV = 0 EA = 0, S1PTW = 0 FSC = 0x06: level 2 translation fault Data abort info: ISV = 0, ISS = 0x00000006 CM = 0, WnR = 0 swapper pgtable: 4k pages, 39-bit VAs, pgdp=0000000081d87000 [ffffff807ff2b000] pgd=180000017fe18003, p4d=180000017fe18003, pud=180000017fe18003, pmd=0000000000000000 Internal error: Oops: 96000006 [#1] PREEMPT SMP Modules linked in: dm_integrity CPU: 7 PID: 21179 Comm: perf Not tainted 5.15.67-10882-ge4eb2eb988cd #1 baa443fb8e8477896a370b31a821eb2009f9bfba Hardware name: Google Lazor (rev3 - 8) (DT) pstate: a0400009 (NzCv daif +PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) pc : __memcpy+0x110/0x260 lr : vread+0x194/0x294 sp : ffffffc013ee39d0 x29: ffffffc013ee39f0 x28: 0000000000001000 x27: ffffff807ff2b000 x26: 0000000000001000 x25: ffffffc0085a2000 x24: ffffff802d4b3000 x23: ffffff80f8a60000 x22: ffffff802d4b3000 x21: ffffffc0085a2000 x20: ffffff8080b7bc68 x19: 0000000000001000 x18: 0000000000000000 x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000000 x15: ffffffd3073f2e60 x14: ffffffffad588000 x13: 0000000000000000 x12: 0000000000000001 x11: 00000000000001a2 x10: 00680000fff2bf0b x9 : 03fffffff807ff2b x8 : 0000000000000001 x7 : 0000000000000000 x6 : 0000000000000000 x5 : ffffff802d4b4000 x4 : ffffff807ff2c000 x3 : ffffffc013ee3a78 x2 : 0000000000001000 x1 : ffffff807ff2b000 x0 : ffffff802d4b3000 Call trace: __memcpy+0x110/0x260 read_kcore+0x584/0x778 proc_reg_read+0xb4/0xe4 During early boot, memblock reserves the pages for the ramoops reserved memory node in DT that would otherwise be part of the direct lowmem mapping. Pstore's ram backend reuses those reserved pages to change the memory type (writeback or non-cached) by passing the pages to vmap() (see pfn_to_page() usage in persistent_ram_vmap() for more details) with specific flags. When read_kcore() starts iterating over the vmalloc region, it runs over the virtual address that vmap() returned for ramoops. In aligned_vread() the virtual address is passed to vmalloc_to_page() which returns the page struct for the reserved lowmem area. That lowmem page is passed to kmap_atomic(), which effectively calls page_to_virt() that assumes a lowmem page struct must be directly accessible with __va() and friends. These pages are mapped via vmap() though, and the lowmem mapping was never made, so accessing them via the lowmem virtual address oopses like above. Let's side-step this problem by passing VM_IOREMAP to vmap(). This will tell vread() to not include the ramoops region in the kcore. Instead the area will look like a bunch of zeros. The alternative is to teach kmap() about vmalloc areas that intersect with lowmem. Presumably such a change isn't a one-liner, and there isn't much interest in inspecting the ramoops region in kcore files anyway, so the most expedient route is taken for now.
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Meta Information
Published
2025-12-30
Last Modified
2025-12-30
Generated
2026-05-07
AI Q&A
2025-12-30
EPSS Evaluated
2026-05-05
NVD
CVE-2022-50849
EUVD
EUVD-2022-55849
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel 5.15.67
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?

This vulnerability occurs in the Linux kernel's pstore subsystem when using the ram backend. It happens because kmap_atomic() assumes low memory pages are accessible via __va(), but in this case, pages reserved for ramoops are mapped via vmap() without a lowmem mapping. When reading /proc/kcore, this causes a kernel oops (crash) due to invalid memory access. The issue is fixed by passing VM_IOREMAP to vmap(), preventing the ramoops region from being included in the kcore, thus avoiding the crash.


How can this vulnerability impact me? :

This vulnerability can cause a kernel crash (oops) when accessing /proc/kcore on devices using pstore with the ram backend. This could lead to system instability or denial of service due to the kernel panic triggered by the invalid memory access.


What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?

To mitigate this vulnerability, update the Linux kernel to a version where the pstore issue is resolved by passing VM_IOREMAP to vmap(), which prevents the kernel oops when accessing /proc/kcore on devices using pstore with the ram backend. Avoid running 'cat /proc/kcore > /dev/null' on affected devices until the kernel is patched.


How can this vulnerability be detected on my network or system? Can you suggest some commands?

This vulnerability can be detected by attempting to reproduce the kernel oops condition described. Specifically, running the command 'cat /proc/kcore > /dev/null' on devices using pstore with the ram backend may induce the oops if the system is vulnerable. Monitoring kernel logs for oops messages related to memory access faults at virtual addresses similar to 'ffffff807ff2b000' or errors involving kmap_atomic() and vmap() can also indicate the presence of this issue.


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