Junglewise Threat Intelligence

CVE-2024-50188: Linux Kernel memory corruption in DP83869 PHY driver

CVE-2024-50188 · Severity: medium · CVSS 5.5 · Published 2024-11-08

Technologies: Linux Kernel. Vendors: Linux.

Executive brief

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's driver for the DP83869 Ethernet hardware can cause system memory corruption when fiber optic connections are enabled. This could allow a local user to cause a system crash or unpredictable behavior, potentially leading to a denial of service. The issue affects systems using specific Texas Instruments Ethernet physical layer (PHY) hardware.

Technical details

A memory corruption vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel DP83869 PHY driver within the dp83869_configure_fiber function. The driver incorrectly calls linkmode_set_bit() using a bit mask (1 << 10) instead of a bit number (10) for the ADVERTISED_FIBRE flag. This results in an out-of-bounds write that corrupts adjacent memory locations, such as the 'priv' pointer within the phy_device structure on arm64 architectures. An attacker with local access could exploit this to cause a kernel panic or denial of service. The fix involves removing the redundant and incorrect bit setting, as advertising flags are properly updated later in the configuration process.

Affected products

  • Linux Linux Kernel 5.10 to 5.10.227, 5.11 to 5.15.168, 5.16 to 6.1.113, 6.2 to 6.6.57, 6.7 to 6.11.4, 6.12-rc1, 6.12-rc2

Timeline

  • 2024-10-03: patched: Initial fix committed to mainline kernel.
  • 2024-11-08: disclosed: CVE-2024-50188 published.

References

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