KVM: SVM: Use kzalloc for sev ioctl interfaces to prevent kernel data leak
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: SVM: Use kzalloc for sev ioctl interfaces to prevent kernel data leak For some sev ioctl interfaces, the length parameter that is passed maybe less than or equal to SEV_FW_BLOB_MAX_SIZE, but larger than the data that PSP firmware returns. In this case, kmalloc will allocate memory that is the size of the input rather than the size of the data. Since PSP firmware doesn't fully overwrite the allocated buffer, these sev ioctl interface may return uninitialized kernel slab memory.
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 | 5.7 and later | 5.10.124, 5.15.45, 5.17.13, 5.18.2, 5.19 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.7 and later Fixed in 5.10.124, 5.15.45, 5.17.13, 5.18.2, 5.19 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.7 to before 5.10.124; 5.11 to before 5.15.45; 5.16 to before 5.17.13; 5.18 to before 5.18.2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.7 to before 5.10.124; 5.11 to before 5.15.45; 5.16 to before 5.17.13; 5.18 to before 5.18.2 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.124, 5.15.45, 5.17.13, 5.18.2, 5.19
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2022-49556
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-78rg-cj9j-75rj
- 2026-11-05 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/401bef1f95de92c3a8c6eece46e02fa88d7285ee
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d8fdb4b24097472ff6b3c0559448200d420b1418
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bbdcc644b59e01e98c68894a9fab42b9687f42b0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/57a01725339f9d82b099102ba2751621b1caab93
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d22d2474e3953996f03528b84b7f52cc26a39403
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-2022-49556 · CVE Program
- CVE-2022-49556 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-78rg-cj9j-75rj · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2022-49556 · 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