powerpc/rtas: Fix RTAS MSR[HV] handling for Cell
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: 1 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: powerpc/rtas: Fix RTAS MSR[HV] handling for Cell The semi-recent changes to MSR handling when entering RTAS (firmware) cause crashes on IBM Cell machines. An example trace: kernel tried to execute user page (2fff01a8) - exploit attempt? (uid: 0) BUG: Unable to handle kernel instruction fetch Faulting instruction address: 0x2fff01a8 Oops: Kernel access of bad area, sig: 11 [#1] BE PAGE_SIZE=64K MMU=Hash SMP NR_CPUS=4 NUMA Cell Modules linked in: CPU: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/0 Tainted: G W 6.0.0-rc2-00433-gede0a8d3307a #207 NIP: 000000002fff01a8 LR: 0000000000032608 CTR: 0000000000000000 REGS: c0000000015236b0 TRAP: 0400 Tainted: G W (6.0.0-rc2-00433-gede0a8d3307a) MSR: 0000000008001002 <ME,RI> CR: 00000000 XER: 20000000 ... NIP 0x2fff01a8 LR 0x32608 Call Trace: 0xc00000000143c5f8 (unreliable) .rtas_call+0x224/0x320 .rtas_get_boot_time+0x70/0x150 .read_persistent_clock64+0x114/0x140 .read_persistent_wall_and_boot_offset+0x24/0x80 .timekeeping_init+0x40/0x29c .start_kernel+0x674/0x8f0 start_here_common+0x1c/0x50 Unlike PAPR platforms where RTAS is only used in guests, on the IBM Cell machines Linux runs with MSR[HV] set but also uses RTAS, provided by SLOF. Fix it by copying the MSR[HV] bit from the MSR value we've just read using mfmsr into the value used for RTAS. It seems like we could also fix it using an #ifdef CELL to set MSR[HV], but that doesn't work because it's possible to build a single kernel image that runs on both Cell native and pseries.
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 | 5.15.46 to before 5.16; 5.17.14 to before 5.18; 5.18.3 to before 5.19 | 5.16, 5.18, 5.19 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 5.19 and later | 5.19.8, 6.0 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.15.46 to before 5.16; 5.17.14 to before 5.18; 5.18.3 to before 5.19 Fixed in 5.16, 5.18, 5.19 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.19 and later Fixed in 5.19.8, 6.0 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 4
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.15.46 to before 5.16; 5.17.14 to before 5.18; 5.18.3 to before 5.19.8 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.0 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.0 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.0 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.15.46 to before 5.16; 5.17.14 to before 5.18; 5.18.3 to before 5.19.8 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.0 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.0 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.0 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.16, 5.18, 5.19
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.19.8, 6.0
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
Not affected: 4 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2022-49955
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-q32g-q8h6-hf4v
- 2026-11-05 CISA SSVC decision points changed
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-2022-49955 · CVE Program
- CVE-2022-49955 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-q32g-q8h6-hf4v · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2022-49955 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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