#VU59896 Security restrictions bypass in Linux kernel - CVE-2022-23222

Vulnerability identifier: #VU59896

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 6.4 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2022-23222

CWE-ID: CWE-264

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: Yes

Vulnerable software:
Linux kernel
Operating systems & Components / Operating system

Vendor: Linux Foundation

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to escalate privileges on the system.

The vulnerability exists due to availability of pointer arithmetic via certain *_OR_NULL pointer types in kernel/bpf/verifier.c in the Linux kernel. A local user can run a specially crafted program to execute arbitrary code with root privileges.

Mitigation

Cybersecurity Help is currently unaware of any official solution to address this vulnerability.

As a temporary solution set kernel.unprivileged_bpf_disabled to 1.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: 5.15 rc1 - 5.15.14

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External links
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/01/13/1
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/01/14/1
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/01/18/2
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/tree/kernel/bpf/verifier.c?h=v5.10.83#n6022

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?