Local service interruption via secvar refcount leak
Published Feb 26, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026
Reference-count leakage in Linux allows local users to interrupt service through failing PowerPC secure-variable sysfs reads. In arch/powerpc/kernel/secvar-sysfs.c, format_show() takes a device-tree node reference, then returns on an unavailable node or missing format property without calling of_node_put(). A low-privileged local user must reach the PowerPC secure-variable format attribute and repeatedly trigger an error path; the resulting leak can exhaust kernel resources and interrupt service.
Summary
What happened
Reference-count leakage in Linux allows local users to interrupt service through failing PowerPC secure-variable sysfs reads. In arch/powerpc/kernel/secvar-sysfs.c, format_show() takes a device-tree node reference, then returns on an unavailable node or missing format property without calling of_node_put(). A low-privileged local user must reach the PowerPC secure-variable format attribute and repeatedly trigger an error path; the resulting leak can exhaust kernel resources and interrupt service.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-49113
- Published
- Feb 26, 2025
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Feb 26, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=5.5
- Affected versionversion=bd5d9c743d38f67d64ea1b512a461f6b5a5f6bec <02222bf4f0a27f6eba66d1f597cdb5daadd51829
- Affected versionversion=bd5d9c743d38f67d64ea1b512a461f6b5a5f6bec <2a71e3ecd829a82013cf095c55068c61d991e885
- Affected versionversion=bd5d9c743d38f67d64ea1b512a461f6b5a5f6bec <c105ffb6b9744158e37e9f81f0f38861951d1c1f
- Affected versionversion=bd5d9c743d38f67d64ea1b512a461f6b5a5f6bec <d05e4265d33af60b39606c20c731e3e719bfe3d6
- Affected versionversion=bd5d9c743d38f67d64ea1b512a461f6b5a5f6bec <d601fd24e6964967f115f036a840f4f28488f63f
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What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Technologies
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