rtc: cmos: Fix event handler registration ordering issue
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 4 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-476.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: rtc: cmos: Fix event handler registration ordering issue Because acpi_install_fixed_event_handler() enables the event automatically on success, it is incorrect to call it before the handler routine passed to it is ready to handle events. Unfortunately, the rtc-cmos driver does exactly the incorrect thing by calling cmos_wake_setup(), which passes rtc_handler() to acpi_install_fixed_event_handler(), before cmos_do_probe(), because rtc_handler() uses dev_get_drvdata() to get to the cmos object pointer and the driver data pointer is only populated in cmos_do_probe(). This leads to a NULL pointer dereference in rtc_handler() on boot if the RTC fixed event happens to be active at the init time. To address this issue, change the initialization ordering of the driver so that cmos_wake_setup() is always called after a successful cmos_do_probe() call. While at it, change cmos_pnp_probe() to call cmos_do_probe() after the initial if () statement used for computing the IRQ argument to be passed to cmos_do_probe() which is cleaner than calling it in each branch of that if () (local variable "irq" can be of type int, because it is passed to that function as an argument of type int). Note that commit 6492fed7d8c9 ("rtc: rtc-cmos: Do not check ACPI_FADT_LOW_POWER_S0") caused this issue to affect a larger number of systems, because previously it only affected systems with ACPI_FADT_LOW_POWER_S0 set, but it is present regardless of that commit.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
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 | 2.6.28 and later | 5.10.163, 5.15.86, 6.0.14, 6.1 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 2.6.28 and later Fixed in 5.10.163, 5.15.86, 6.0.14, 6.1 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 9
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.6.28 to before 5.10.163; 5.11 to before 5.15.86; 5.16 to before 6.0.14 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.1 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.1 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.1 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.1 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.1 rc5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.1 rc6 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.1 rc7 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc8:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.1 rc8 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.6.28 to before 5.10.163; 5.11 to before 5.15.86; 5.16 to before 6.0.14 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.1 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.1 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.1 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.1 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.1 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.1 rc6 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.1 rc7 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc8:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.1 rc8 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.163, 5.15.86, 6.0.14, 6.1
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2022-48953
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-8j4x-47rq-vf32
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-2022-48953 · CVE Program
- CVE-2022-48953 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-8j4x-47rq-vf32 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2022-48953 · 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