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CVE Record

CVE-2022-48813: net: dsa: felix: don't use devres for mdiobus

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: dsa: felix: don't use devres for mdiobus As explained in commits: 74b6d7d13307 ("net: dsa: realtek: register the MDIO bus under devres") 5135e96a3dd2 ("net: dsa: don't allocate the slave_mii_bus using devres") mdiobus_free() will panic when called from devm_mdiobus_free() <- devres_release_all() <- __device_release_driver(), and that mdiobus was not previously unregistered. The Felix VSC9959 switch is a PCI device, so the initial set of constraints that I thought would cause this (I2C or SPI buses which call ->remove on ->shutdown) do not apply. But there is one more which applies here. If the DSA master itself is on a bus that calls ->remove from ->shutdown (like dpaa2-eth, which is on the fsl-mc bus), there is a device link between the switch and the DSA master, and device_links_unbind_consumers() will unbind the felix switch driver on shutdown. So the same treatment must be applied to all DSA switch drivers, which is: either use devres for both the mdiobus allocation and registration, or don't use devres at all. The felix driver has the code structure in place for orderly mdiobus removal, so just replace devm_mdiobus_alloc_size() with the non-devres variant, and add manual free where necessary, to ensure that we don't let devres free a still-registered bus.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysislow

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2022-48813 is a Linux kernel availability bug in the Felix DSA switch driver. On specific networking hardware and shutdown/unbind paths, the kernel can panic because an MDIO bus is freed while still registered. The public sources do not show active exploitation or a remote attack path.

Executive priority

Handle through normal kernel maintenance unless affected networking appliances are mission-critical. Raise priority if outages during reboot or shutdown would disrupt operations, or if your fleet includes Felix VSC9959-based platforms.

Technical view

The issue affects the Linux kernel net/dsa/felix driver. The driver used devres for mdiobus allocation, allowing devres_release_all() during driver release to call devm_mdiobus_free() before unregistering the bus, causing mdiobus_free() panic. Stable fixes replace devm_mdiobus_alloc_size() with non-devres allocation and manual cleanup.

Likely exposure

Exposure appears limited to Linux systems using the Felix VSC9959 DSA switch driver, especially where shutdown unbinds the switch through a DSA master device link such as dpaa2-eth on fsl-mc. General Linux servers without this driver/hardware are unlikely to be exposed.

Exploitation context

No CISA KEV entry is provided, and the sources do not report active exploitation. The described trigger is a kernel driver lifecycle condition during shutdown or device unbinding, not a documented network-reachable exploit.

Researcher notes

Severity metadata is incomplete: no CVSS or CWE is supplied. The fix rationale is clear in kernel sources, but exposure depends heavily on hardware, driver binding, and shutdown behavior. Avoid assuming broad Linux impact without asset evidence.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade to a kernel containing the referenced stable fixes.
  • Check Linux distribution or device vendor advisories for backported fixes.
  • Prioritize embedded or network appliances using Felix VSC9959 DSA switching.
  • Schedule maintenance testing for shutdown and reboot behavior after patching.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux kernel versions and Felix DSA driver usage.
  • Confirm whether deployed kernels include one of the referenced stable commits.
  • Identify systems using VSC9959, dpaa2-eth, or fsl-mc combinations.
  • Review crash records for kernel panics during shutdown or driver unbind.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
6

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

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CVE-2022-48813 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
5Source 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
Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinuxac3a68d56651c3dad2c12c7afce065fe15267f44, ac3a68d56651c3dad2c12c7afce065fe15267f44, ac3a68d56651c3dad2c12c7afce065fe15267f44, ac3a68d56651c3dad2c12c7afce065fe15267f44unaffected
LinuxLinux5.9, 0, 5.10.101, 5.15.24, 5.16.10, 5.17affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.