CVE-2022-49124

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/mce: Work around an erratum on fast string copy instructions A rare kernel panic scenario can happen when the following conditions are met due to an erratum on fast string copy instructions: 1) An uncorrected error. 2) That error must be in first cache line of a page. 3) Kernel must execute page_copy from the page immediately before that page. The fast string copy instructions ("REP; MOVS*") could consume an uncorrectable memory error in the cache line _right after_ the desired region to copy and raise an MCE. Bit 0 of MSR_IA32_MISC_ENABLE can be cleared to disable fast string copy and will avoid such spurious machine checks. However, that is less preferable due to the permanent performance impact. Considering memory poison is rare, it's desirable to keep fast string copy enabled until an MCE is seen. Intel has confirmed the following: 1. The CPU erratum of fast string copy only applies to Skylake, Cascade Lake and Cooper Lake generations. Directly return from the MCE handler: 2. Will result in complete execution of the "REP; MOVS*" with no data loss or corruption. 3. Will not result in another MCE firing on the next poisoned cache line due to "REP; MOVS*". 4. Will resume execution from a correct point in code. 5. Will result in the same instruction that triggered the MCE firing a second MCE immediately for any other software recoverable data fetch errors. 6. Is not safe without disabling the fast string copy, as the next fast string copy of the same buffer on the same CPU would result in a PANIC MCE. This should mitigate the erratum completely with the only caveat that the fast string copy is disabled on the affected hyper thread thus performance degradation. This is still better than the OS crashing on MCEs raised on an irrelevant process due to "REP; MOVS*' accesses in a kernel context, e.g., copy_page. Injected errors on 1st cache line of 8 anonymous pages of process 'proc1' and observed MCE consumption from 'proc2' with no panic (directly returned). Without the fix, the host panicked within a few minutes on a random 'proc2' process due to kernel access from copy_page. [ bp: Fix comment style + touch ups, zap an unlikely(), improve the quirk function's readability. ]

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2025-02-26
Last modified 2025-10-15
CVSS version 3.1
Patch available
Yes

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

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 2.6.19 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.17.3, 5.18 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 2.6.19
Fixed in
✓ 5.17.3 5.17.x ✓ 5.18

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2022-49124 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-2022-49124?

    CVE-2022-49124 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 2.6.19 onward and has been patched in 5.17.3 and 5.18. CVE-2022-49124 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2022-49124?

    CVE-2022-49124 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-2022-49124?

    Yes — CVE-2022-49124 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.17.3 and 5.18. If you are running Linux kernel 2.6.19 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2022-49124 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2022-49124 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.