CVE-2022-48707: cxl/region: Fix null pointer dereference for resetting decoder

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2024-05-21 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-476

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cxl/region: Fix null pointer dereference for resetting decoder Not all decoders have a reset callback. The CXL specification allows a host bridge with a single root port to have no explicit HDM decoders. Currently the region driver assumes there are none. As such the CXL core creates a special pass through decoder instance without a commit/reset callback. Prior to this patch, the ->reset() callback was called unconditionally when calling cxl_region_decode_reset. Thus a configuration with 1 Host Bridge, 1 Root Port, and one directly attached CXL type 3 device or multiple CXL type 3 devices attached to downstream ports of a switch can cause a null pointer dereference. Before the fix, a kernel crash was observed when we destroy the region, and a pass through decoder is reset. The issue can be reproduced as below, 1) create a region with a CXL setup which includes a HB with a single root port under which a memdev is attached directly. 2) destroy the region with cxl destroy-region regionX -f.

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 6.0 before 6.1.12; 6.2-rc1, 6.2-rc2, 6.2-rc3, 6.2-rc4, 6.2-rc5, 6.2-rc6 (+1) — fixed in 6.1.12

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 6.1.12. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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