CVE-2022-48731: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/kmemleak: avoid scanning potential huge holes When using devm_request_free_me...

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/kmemleak: avoid scanning potential huge holes When using devm_request_free_mem_region() and devm_memremap_pages() to add ZONE_DEVICE memory, if requested free mem region's end pfn were huge(e.g., 0x400000000), the node_end_pfn() will be also huge (see move_pfn_range_to_zone()). Thus it creates a huge hole between node_start_pfn() and node_end_pfn(). We found on some AMD APUs, amdkfd requested such a free mem region and created a huge hole. In such a case, following code snippet was just doing busy test_bit() looping on the huge hole. for (pfn = start_pfn; pfn < end_pfn; pfn++) { struct page *page = pfn_to_online_page(pfn); if (!page) continue; ... } So we got a soft lockup: watchdog: BUG: soft lockup - CPU#6 stuck for 26s! [bash:1221] CPU: 6 PID: 1221 Comm: bash Not tainted 5.15.0-custom #1 RIP: 0010:pfn_to_online_page+0x5/0xd0 Call Trace: ? kmemleak_scan+0x16a/0x440 kmemleak_write+0x306/0x3a0 ? common_file_perm+0x72/0x170 full_proxy_write+0x5c/0x90 vfs_write+0xb9/0x260 ksys_write+0x67/0xe0 __x64_sys_write+0x1a/0x20 do_syscall_64+0x3b/0xc0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae I did some tests with the patch. (1) amdgpu module unloaded before the patch: real 0m0.976s user 0m0.000s sys 0m0.968s after the patch: real 0m0.981s user 0m0.000s sys 0m0.973s (2) amdgpu module loaded before the patch: real 0m35.365s user 0m0.000s sys 0m35.354s after the patch: real 0m1.049s user 0m0.000s sys 0m1.042s

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

5.5/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS Probability

0.17%

6.4th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-667

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions	Update
Linux	Linux Kernel	< 5.4.178	—
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 5.5, < 5.10.99	—
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 5.11, < 5.15.22	—
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 5.16, < 5.16.8	—
Linux	Linux Kernel	5.17	Rc1

References

Timeline

Published: Jun 20, 2024
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Analyzed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-48731?

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/kmemleak: avoid scanning potential huge holes When using devm_request_free_mem_region() and devm_memremap_pages() to add ZONE_DEVICE memory, if requested free mem region's end pfn were huge(e.g., 0x400000000), the node_end_pfn() will be also huge (see move_pfn_range_to_zone()). Thus it creates a huge hole between node_start_pfn() and node_end_pfn(). We found on some AMD APUs, amdkfd requested such a free mem region and created a huge hole. In such a case, following code snippet was just doing busy test_bit() looping on the huge hole. for (pfn = start_pfn; pfn < end_pfn; pfn++) { struct page *page = pfn_to_online_page(pfn); if (!page) continue; ... } So we got a soft lockup: watchdog: BUG: soft lockup - CPU#6 stuck for 26s! [bash:1221] CPU: 6 PID: 1221 Comm: bash Not tainted 5.15.0-custom #1 RIP: 0010:pfn_to_online_page+0x5/0xd0 Call Trace: ? kmemleak_scan+0x16a/0x440 kmemleak_write+0x306/0x3a0 ? common_file_perm+0x72/0x170 full_proxy_write+0x5c/0x90 vfs_write+0xb9/0x260 ksys_write+0x67/0xe0 __x64_sys_write+0x1a/0x20 do_syscall_64+0x3b/0xc0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae I did some tests with the patch. (1) amdgpu module unloaded before the patch: real 0m0.976s user 0m0.000s sys 0m0.968s after the patch: real 0m0.981s user 0m0.000s sys 0m0.973s (2) amdgpu module loaded before the patch: real 0m35.365s user 0m0.000s sys 0m35.354s after the patch: real 0m1.049s user 0m0.000s sys 0m1.042s

How severe is CVE-2022-48731?

CVE-2022-48731 has a CVSS score of 5.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.17% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2022-48731?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.