CVE-2022-48769

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: efi: runtime: avoid EFIv2 runtime services on Apple x86 machines Aditya reports [0] that his recent MacbookPro crashes in the firmware when using the variable services at runtime. The culprit appears to be a call to QueryVariableInfo(), which we did not use to call on Apple x86 machines in the past as they only upgraded from EFI v1.10 to EFI v2.40 firmware fairly recently, and QueryVariableInfo() (along with UpdateCapsule() et al) was added in EFI v2.00. The only runtime service introduced in EFI v2.00 that we actually use in Linux is QueryVariableInfo(), as the capsule based ones are optional, generally not used at runtime (all the LVFS/fwupd firmware update infrastructure uses helper EFI programs that invoke capsule update at boot time, not runtime), and not implemented by Apple machines in the first place. QueryVariableInfo() is used to 'safely' set variables, i.e., only when there is enough space. This prevents machines with buggy firmwares from corrupting their NVRAMs when they run out of space. Given that Apple machines have been using EFI v1.10 services only for the longest time (the EFI v2.0 spec was released in 2006, and Linux support for the newly introduced runtime services was added in 2011, but the MacbookPro12,1 released in 2015 still claims to be EFI v1.10 only), let's avoid the EFI v2.0 ones on all Apple x86 machines. [0] https://lore.kernel.org/all/[email protected]/

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2024-06-20
Last modified 2025-09-29
CVSS version 3.1
Patch available
Awaiting data

CVSS 3.1 score

5.5

out of 10
Medium
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
High
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2022-48769 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2022-48769?

    CVE-2022-48769 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 . CVE-2022-48769 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2022-48769?

    CVE-2022-48769 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H .

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2022-48769?

    No patch is currently available for CVE-2022-48769. Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for updates.

  • Is CVE-2022-48769 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2022-48769 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.