QEMU ERST Device Buffer Overflow Allowing Guest Memory Overrun
CVE-2022-4172 Published on November 29, 2022
An integer overflow and buffer overflow issues were found in the ACPI Error Record Serialization Table (ERST) device of QEMU in the read_erst_record() and write_erst_record() functions. Both issues may allow the guest to overrun the host buffer allocated for the ERST memory device. A malicious guest could use these flaws to crash the QEMU process on the host.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2022-4172 is exploitable with local system access, and requires small amount of user privileges. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have no impact on confidentiality and integrity, and a high impact on availability.
Weakness Type
What is a Classic Buffer Overflow Vulnerability?
The program copies an input buffer to an output buffer without verifying that the size of the input buffer is less than the size of the output buffer, leading to a buffer overflow. A buffer overflow condition exists when a program attempts to put more data in a buffer than it can hold, or when a program attempts to put data in a memory area outside of the boundaries of a buffer. The simplest type of error, and the most common cause of buffer overflows, is the "classic" case in which the program copies the buffer without restricting how much is copied. Other variants exist, but the existence of a classic overflow strongly suggests that the programmer is not considering even the most basic of security protections.
CVE-2022-4172 has been classified to as a Classic Buffer Overflow vulnerability or weakness.
Products Associated with CVE-2022-4172
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Exploit Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.