CVE-2022-50882

Vulnerability

In the Linux kernel's UVC video4linux subsystem, the uvc_gpio_parse function in drivers/media/usb/uvc/uvc_driver.c contains a memory leak. The function allocates a unit buffer before checking the IRQ for the privacy GPIO. If the IRQ check fails, the allocated buffer is not freed, leading to a resource leak [1][2].

Exploitation

This vulnerability is triggered during device enumeration when the kernel parses UVC (USB Video Class) device descriptors. An attacker would need to connect a malicious USB device that causes the IRQ check to fail after the buffer allocation. No authentication is required, but physical or local USB access is necessary.

Impact

A successful exploit results in a memory leak, at minimum, a memory leak that can degrade system performance over time. Repeated exploitation could exhaust kernel memory, potentially leading to a denial-of-service condition.

Mitigation

The fix was applied in Linux kernel commits [1] and [2], which move the buffer allocation after the IRQ check. Users should update to a kernel version containing these commits. No workaround is available.