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CVE Record

CVE-2022-48732: drm/nouveau: fix off by one in BIOS boundary checking

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/nouveau: fix off by one in BIOS boundary checking Bounds checking when parsing init scripts embedded in the BIOS reject access to the last byte. This causes driver initialization to fail on Apple eMac's with GeForce 2 MX GPUs, leaving the system with no working console. This is probably only seen on OpenFirmware machines like PowerPC Macs because the BIOS image provided by OF is only the used parts of the ROM, not a power-of-two blocks read from PCI directly so PCs always have empty bytes at the end that are never accessed.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysislow

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This Linux kernel issue can prevent the Nouveau graphics driver from starting on specific legacy systems, leaving the machine without a working console. The source describes a narrow hardware-dependent availability problem, mainly observed on OpenFirmware PowerPC Macs such as Apple eMac systems with GeForce 2 MX GPUs.

Executive priority

Treat this as a targeted operational availability issue, not a broad emergency. Patch through normal kernel maintenance, with higher priority for any legacy systems where loss of local console would affect recovery or service operations.

Technical view

Nouveau BIOS init-script parsing used an off-by-one boundary check that incorrectly rejected access to the last BIOS byte. On systems where OpenFirmware provides only the used ROM bytes, driver initialization can fail. Stable kernel commits resolve the boundary check.

Likely exposure

Exposure appears limited to Linux systems using the Nouveau driver with affected kernel versions and BIOS images shaped like the OpenFirmware case described in the CVE. Typical PCs are described as unlikely to hit this path because their ROM reads include unused trailing bytes.

Exploitation context

The bundle marks KEV as false and provides no evidence of active exploitation. The documented impact is driver initialization failure and loss of console on affected hardware, not remote code execution or privilege escalation.

Researcher notes

The public record does not provide CVSS, CWE, or exploitation evidence. The affected-version data is sparse and commit-oriented, so validation should rely on kernel package provenance and whether the Nouveau stable fix is present.

Mitigation direction

  • Update to a vendor kernel containing the referenced stable Nouveau fix.
  • Prioritize legacy PowerPC Mac or OpenFirmware systems using Nouveau.
  • Check Linux distribution advisories for supported fixed package versions.
  • Avoid direct deployment shortcuts; follow normal kernel update and reboot procedures.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory systems using the Nouveau driver with affected Linux kernel versions.
  • Identify legacy OpenFirmware or PowerPC Mac hardware in scope.
  • Confirm the running kernel includes a referenced stable fix.
  • After updating, verify Nouveau initializes and the console works on affected hardware.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
10

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

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CVE-2022-48732 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
2ADP providers
9Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: noneAutomatable: noTechnical Impact: partial

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CVECVE Program Container
CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
other:ssvc

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux4d4e9907ff572bb1d1c0f6913ad6e3d6d4525077, 4d4e9907ff572bb1d1c0f6913ad6e3d6d4525077, 4d4e9907ff572bb1d1c0f6913ad6e3d6d4525077, 4d4e9907ff572bb1d1c0f6913ad6e3d6d4525077, 4d4e9907ff572bb1d1c0f6913ad6e3d6d4525077, 4d4e9907ff572bb1d1c0f6913ad6e3d6d4525077, 4d4e9907ff572bb1d1c0f6913ad6e3d6d4525077, 4d4e9907ff572bb1d1c0f6913ad6e3d6d4525077unaffected
LinuxLinux4.8, 0, 4.9.300, 4.14.265, 4.19.228, 5.4.178, 5.10.99, 5.15.22, 5.16.8, 5.17affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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