Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a Linux kernel RDMA driver bug that may let a local user trigger an availability failure on systems using the irdma driver. The issue is an integer underflow risk from firmware-provided values. Sources do not show data theft, privilege escalation, or active exploitation.
Executive priority
Treat as a targeted availability risk, not a broad internet-facing emergency. Patch during normal kernel maintenance, with faster handling for production hosts that use RDMA/irdma for storage, networking, or clustered workloads.
Technical view
CVE-2022-49208 is a CWE-191 integer underflow in Linux RDMA/irdma ctrl.c. A firmware-derived max_ceqs value may be zero, making subtraction unsafe during CEQ initialization. The CVSS vector is local, low complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, with high availability impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on Linux hosts running affected kernels with Intel RDMA irdma hardware or driver paths enabled. General Linux systems without this driver path are less likely exposed, but kernel package backports should be checked against vendor advisories.
Exploitation context
The source bundle reports no CISA KEV listing and provides no cited evidence of active exploitation. The CVSS vector requires local access with low privileges, limiting remote mass-exploitation likelihood, while availability impact remains material for affected RDMA systems.
Researcher notes
The record describes a hardening fix triggered by static analysis, not a demonstrated exploit. The affected version data in the bundle is limited, so distribution-specific kernel mapping is necessary before declaring exposure or remediation complete.
Mitigation direction
- Update to a vendor kernel containing the referenced stable fixes.
- Prioritize systems using RDMA/irdma in production or virtualization clusters.
- Check Linux distribution advisories for backported fixes.
- If patching is delayed, reduce exposure of nonessential RDMA workloads.
Validation and detection
- Inventory kernels and identify hosts using RDMA or the irdma driver.
- Compare installed kernel builds with vendor fixed versions or referenced commits.
- Review distribution security trackers for CVE-2022-49208 backport status.
- Confirm no critical workloads depend on unpatched affected RDMA paths.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
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
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-191: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2022-49208 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 5.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H1.83.6CISA-ADPVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d52dab6e03550f9c97121b0c11c0a3ed78ee76a4CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f21056f15bbeacab7b4b87af232f5599d1f2bff1CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7340c3675d7ac946f4019b84cd7c64ed542dfe4cCVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6f6dbb819dfc1a35bcb8b709b5c83a3ea8beff75CVE reference, Linux
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Integer Underflow (Wrap or Wraparound)
Integer Underflow (Wrap or Wraparound) represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.