CVE-2022-50710

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's ice network driver. A local user, by changing the number of transmit queues using the ethtool utility, can trigger an issue where newly allocated transmit rings are not properly initialized. This can lead to a null pointer dereference, causing a system crash and a Denial of Service (DoS).

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.

The vulnerability requires a local user to have privileges to use the ethtool utility and an ice network adapter. To mitigate this issue, restrict access to the ethtool utility to trusted administrators. If the ice network driver is not in use, consider blacklisting the ice kernel module to prevent it from loading.

To blacklist the ice module:

1. Create a file /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-ice.conf with the following content: blacklist ice
2. Regenerate the initramfs: dracut -f -v (for RHEL 7/8) or dracut -f -v --kver $(uname -r) (for RHEL 9)
3. Reboot the system for the changes to take effect.

This mitigation may impact network functionality if the ice driver is required for network operations.