Kernel crash via stale PowerPC high_memory boundary
Published Feb 26, 2025 · Updated May 23, 2026
A memory-management flaw in Linux 5.18 and affected stable-branch builds allows local users to crash PowerPC systems with DAX memory. The PowerPC memory-hotplug path adds pages without advancing high_memory, so virt_addr_valid rejects valid DAX PFNs and free_pages reaches a BUG_ON. Low-privileged local access and a PowerPC system using DAX persistent-memory hotplug are required; the demonstrated consequence is a kernel crash.
Summary
What happened
A memory-management flaw in Linux 5.18 and affected stable-branch builds allows local users to crash PowerPC systems with DAX memory. The PowerPC memory-hotplug path adds pages without advancing high_memory, so virt_addr_valid rejects valid DAX PFNs and free_pages reaches a BUG_ON. Low-privileged local access and a PowerPC system using DAX persistent-memory hotplug are required; the demonstrated consequence is a kernel crash.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-49666
- Published
- Feb 26, 2025
- Updated
- May 23, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Feb 26, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 23, 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?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=5.10.111 <5.11
- Affected versionversion=5.15.34 <5.15.53
- Affected versionversion=5.16.20 <5.17
- Affected versionversion=5.17.3 <5.18
- Affected versionversion=5.18
- Affected versionversion=5.4.190 <5.5
- Affected versionversion=a3727c25eacd7e437c4f560957fa3a376fe93e6b
- Affected versionversion=cbc065efcba000ad8f615f506ebe61b6d3c5145b
- Affected versionversion=d36febbcd537fcc50284e8b89609632d0146529f
- Affected versionversion=deab81144d5a043f42804207fb76cfbd8a806978
- Affected versionversion=fddb88bd266f4513abab7c36bca98935c9148a98 <89296ac435e2cf8a5101f7fab8f0c7b754b92052
- Affected versionversion=ffa0b64e3be58519ae472ea29a1a1ad681e32f48 <84d146fd35a01b08e9515041de60f0f915a417d5
- Affected versionversion=ffa0b64e3be58519ae472ea29a1a1ad681e32f48 <ac790d09885d36143076e7e02825c541e8eee899
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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