CVE-2022-50541
📋 TL;DR
A Linux kernel vulnerability in the TI K3-UDMA driver causes 32-bit byte counters to overflow when transferring more than 4GB of data, leading to indefinite transfer hangs. This affects systems using Texas Instruments K3 UDMA hardware with vulnerable kernel versions. The vulnerability requires local access to trigger.
💻 Affected Systems
- Linux kernel with TI K3-UDMA driver
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Denial of service causing indefinite system hangs requiring physical intervention or reboot, potentially disrupting critical operations.
Likely Case
Local denial of service affecting DMA operations, causing specific transfers to hang and potentially impacting system performance.
If Mitigated
Minimal impact with proper patching; unpatched systems remain vulnerable to local DoS attacks.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires local access to trigger DMA transfers exceeding 4GB.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Kernel versions containing commits: 7c94dcfa8fcff2dba53915f1dabfee49a3df8b88, a065657643a62a24b4435ddcaea45f1e9378749e, d68da10b0cceb4177b653833e794b2923a4ffbd7, e0b16bfbd3a4a8d09614046335f4482313e7c0c4
Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7c94dcfa8fcff2dba53915f1dabfee49a3df8b88
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update Linux kernel to patched version from your distribution. 2. Reboot system to load new kernel. 3. Verify kernel version after reboot.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Limit DMA transfer sizes
linuxConfigure applications to avoid DMA transfers exceeding 4GB to prevent counter overflow
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict local user access to systems with TI K3 UDMA hardware
- Monitor for DMA transfer failures and system hangs
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check kernel version and confirm TI K3-UDMA driver is loaded: lsmod | grep k3-udmaCheck Version:
uname -rVerify Fix Applied:
Verify kernel version is updated and contains the fix commits📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Kernel logs showing DMA transfer hangs
- System performance degradation during large transfers
SIEM Query:
Search for kernel panic or hang events on systems with TI K3 hardware