Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: i2c: designware: Fix...
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
i2c: designware: Fix handling of real but unexpected device interrupts
Commit c7b79a752871 ("mfd: intel-lpss: Add Intel Alder Lake PCH-S PCI
IDs") caused a regression on certain Gigabyte motherboards for Intel
Alder Lake-S where system crashes to NULL pointer dereference in
i2c_dw_xfer_msg() when system resumes from S3 sleep state ("deep").
I was able to debug the issue on Gigabyte Z690 AORUS ELITE and made
following notes:
- Issue happens when resuming from S3 but not when resuming from
"s2idle" - PCI device 00:15.0 == i2c_designware.0 is already in D0 state when
system enters into pci_pm_resume_noirq() while all other i2c_designware
PCI devices are in D3. Devices were runtime suspended and in D3 prior
entering into suspend - Interrupt comes after pci_pm_resume_noirq() when device interrupts are
re-enabled - According to register dump the interrupt really comes from the
i2c_designware.0. Controller is enabled, I2C target address register
points to a one detectable I2C device address 0x60 and the
DW_IC_RAW_INTR_STAT register START_DET, STOP_DET, ACTIVITY and
TX_EMPTY bits are set indicating completed I2C transaction.
My guess is that the firmware uses this controller to communicate with
an on-board I2C device during resume but does not disable the controller
before giving control to an operating system.
I was told the UEFI update fixes this but never the less it revealed the
driver is not ready to handle TX_EMPTY (or RX_FULL) interrupt when device
is supposed to be idle and state variables are not set (especially the
dev->msgs pointer which may point to NULL or stale old data).
Introduce a new software status flag STATUS_ACTIVE indicating when the
controller is active in driver point of view. Now treat all interrupts
that occur when is not set as unexpected and mask all interrupts from
the controller.
Impact
The application dereferences a null pointer, causing a crash. Typical impact: denial of service via crash.
CVE-2022-50370 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). The vector is requires local access, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. No fixed version is listed yet, so configuration controls and monitoring matter more in the interim.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2022-50370? CVE-2022-50370 is a medium-severity null pointer dereference vulnerability. No fixed version is listed yet. The application dereferences a null pointer, causing a crash.
- How severe is CVE-2022-50370? CVE-2022-50370 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2022-50370? No fixed version is listed for CVE-2022-50370 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is CVE-2022-50370 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2022-50370 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2022-50370 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.