Linux Kernel LoadPin bypass via dm-verity table reload
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- High
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- High
- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 12 fixed, 1 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-287.
Summary
Dm-verity is used for extending root-of-trust to root filesystems. LoadPin builds on this property to restrict module/firmware loads to just the trusted root filesystem. Device-mapper table reloads currently allow users with root privileges to switch out the target with an equivalent dm-linear target and bypass verification till reboot. This allows root to bypass LoadPin and can be used to load untrusted and unverified kernel modules and firmware, which implies arbitrary kernel execution and persistence for peripherals that do not verify firmware updates. We recommend upgrading past commit 4caae58406f8ceb741603eee460d79bacca9b1b5
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- Poc
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux Kernel | before 4caae58406f8ceb741603eee460d79bacca9b1b5 | 4caae58406f8ceb741603eee460d79bacca9b1b5 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux Kernel VendorLinux Affected before 4caae58406f8ceb741603eee460d79bacca9b1b5 Fixed in 4caae58406f8ceb741603eee460d79bacca9b1b5 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux Kernel (Linux Kernel) Fixed in 4caae58406f8ceb741603eee460d79bacca9b1b5
Red Hat 5 advisories
- RHSA-2023:5627 Released 2023-10-10 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.8.6) kernel-tools-libs-devel-4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.8.6) bpftool-4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6, kernel-4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6, kernel-abi-stablelists-4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6 +19
- Red Hat Virtualization 4 Hypervisor for RHEL 8 kernel-devel-4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6, perf-4.18.0-372.75.1.el8_6
- RHSA-2022:8267 Released 2022-11-15 · Red Hat rating Moderatekernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) kernel-tools-libs-devel-5.14.0-162.6.1.el9_1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) kernel-debug-devel-5.14.0-162.6.1.el9_1, kernel-debug-devel-matched-5.14.0-162.6.1.el9_1, kernel-devel-5.14.0-162.6.1.el9_1 +5
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) bpftool-5.14.0-162.6.1.el9_1, kernel-5.14.0-162.6.1.el9_1, kernel-abi-stablelists-5.14.0-162.6.1.el9_1 +14
- RHSA-2022:7933 Released 2022-11-15 · Red Hat rating Moderatekernel-rt security and bug fix update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-162.6.1.rt21.168.el9_1, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-162.6.1.rt21.168.el9_1, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-162.6.1.rt21.168.el9_1 +7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-162.6.1.rt21.168.el9_1, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-162.6.1.rt21.168.el9_1, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-162.6.1.rt21.168.el9_1 +9
Show 2 more Red Hat advisories
- RHSA-2022:7683 Released 2022-11-08 · Red Hat rating Moderatekernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 8) kernel-tools-libs-devel-4.18.0-425.3.1.el8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) bpftool-4.18.0-425.3.1.el8, kernel-4.18.0-425.3.1.el8, kernel-abi-stablelists-4.18.0-425.3.1.el8 +19
- RHSA-2022:7444 Released 2022-11-08 · Red Hat rating Moderatekernel-rt security and bug fix update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 8) kernel-rt-4.18.0-425.3.1.rt7.213.el8, kernel-rt-core-4.18.0-425.3.1.rt7.213.el8, kernel-rt-debug-4.18.0-425.3.1.rt7.213.el8 +7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 8) kernel-rt-4.18.0-425.3.1.rt7.213.el8, kernel-rt-core-4.18.0-425.3.1.rt7.213.el8, kernel-rt-debug-4.18.0-425.3.1.rt7.213.el8 +9
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2022:7683 |
| Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2022:8267 |
| Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.8.6) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:5627 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2022:8267 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2022:7683 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2022:8267 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.8.6) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:5627 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2022:7444 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2022:7933 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2022:7444 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2022:7933 |
| Red Hat Virtualization 4 Hypervisor for RHEL 8 | Fixed | RHSA-2023:5627 |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2022-2503
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-j7xr-c5x7-xr2p
References
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2022-2503 · CVE Program
- CVE-2022-2503 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-j7xr-c5x7-xr2p · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2022-2503 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences