CVE-2022-49086
net: openvswitch: fix leak of nested actions
Published Feb 26, 2025
CVSS 3.1 · 5.5 Medium
EPSS < 1%
KEV · Not listed
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net: openvswitch: fix leak of nested actions
While parsing user-provided actions, openvswitch module may dynamically
allocate memory and store pointers in the internal copy of the actions.
So this memory has to be freed while destroying the actions.
Currently there are only two such actions: ct() and set(). However,
there are many actions that can hold nested lists of actions and
ovs_nla_free_flow_actions() just jumps over them leaking the memory.
For example, removal of the flow with the following actions will lead
to a leak of the memory allocated by nf_ct_tmpl_alloc():
actions:clone(ct(commit),0)
Non-freed set() action may also leak the 'dst' structure for the
tunnel info including device references.
Under certain conditions with a high rate of flow rotation that may
cause significant memory leak problem (2MB per second in reporter's
case). The problem is also hard to mitigate, because the user doesn't
have direct control over the datapath flows generated by OVS.
Fix that by iterating over all the nested actions and freeing
everything that needs to be freed recursively.
New build time assertion should protect us from this problem if new
actions will be added in the future.
Unfortunately, openvswitch module doesn't use NLA_F_NESTED, so all
attributes has to be explicitly checked. sample() and clone() actions
are mixing extra attributes into the user-provided action list. That
prevents some code generalization too.
net: openvswitch: fix leak of nested actions
While parsing user-provided actions, openvswitch module may dynamically
allocate memory and store pointers in the internal copy of the actions.
So this memory has to be freed while destroying the actions.
Currently there are only two such actions: ct() and set(). However,
there are many actions that can hold nested lists of actions and
ovs_nla_free_flow_actions() just jumps over them leaking the memory.
For example, removal of the flow with the following actions will lead
to a leak of the memory allocated by nf_ct_tmpl_alloc():
actions:clone(ct(commit),0)
Non-freed set() action may also leak the 'dst' structure for the
tunnel info including device references.
Under certain conditions with a high rate of flow rotation that may
cause significant memory leak problem (2MB per second in reporter's
case). The problem is also hard to mitigate, because the user doesn't
have direct control over the datapath flows generated by OVS.
Fix that by iterating over all the nested actions and freeing
everything that needs to be freed recursively.
New build time assertion should protect us from this problem if new
actions will be added in the future.
Unfortunately, openvswitch module doesn't use NLA_F_NESTED, so all
attributes has to be explicitly checked. sample() and clone() actions
are mixing extra attributes into the user-provided action list. That
prevents some code generalization too.
Analysis
Affected Products
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CVE record
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NVD configurations
-
Red Hat packages
No data
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OpenCVE enrichment
No data
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | unaffected |
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| Linux | Linux | affected |
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Configuration 1 [-]
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No data.
No data available yet.
Remediation
Tracking
Advisories
| Source | ID | Title |
|---|---|---|
 EUVD |
EUVD-2022-55118 | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: openvswitch: fix leak of nested actions While parsing user-provided actions, openvswitch module may dynamically allocate memory and store pointers in the internal copy of the actions. So this memory has to be freed while destroying the actions. Currently there are only two such actions: ct() and set(). However, there are many actions that can hold nested lists of actions and ovs_nla_free_flow_actions() just jumps over them leaking the memory. For example, removal of the flow with the following actions will lead to a leak of the memory allocated by nf_ct_tmpl_alloc(): actions:clone(ct(commit),0) Non-freed set() action may also leak the 'dst' structure for the tunnel info including device references. Under certain conditions with a high rate of flow rotation that may cause significant memory leak problem (2MB per second in reporter's case). The problem is also hard to mitigate, because the user doesn't have direct control over the datapath flows generated by OVS. Fix that by iterating over all the nested actions and freeing everything that needs to be freed recursively. New build time assertion should protect us from this problem if new actions will be added in the future. Unfortunately, openvswitch module doesn't use NLA_F_NESTED, so all attributes has to be explicitly checked. sample() and clone() actions are mixing extra attributes into the user-provided action list. That prevents some code generalization too. |
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0
Attack Vector Local
Attack Complexity Low
Privileges Required Low
Scope Unchanged
Confidentiality Impact None
Integrity Impact None
Availability Impact High
User Interaction None
No CVSS v3.0
No CVSS v2
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
Exploit prediction score: < 1% (0.267% probability within 30 days)
Key SSVC decision points have not yet been added.
References
History
Sep 23, 2025 6:15 PM
First appearance in the feed. Weaknesses updated. Affected versions updated. Affected vendors updated
View changes
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| Weaknesses | CWE-401 | |
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.18:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* |
|
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
Feb 27, 2025 1:45 AM
Added references. Scoring metrics updated
View changes
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| References |
| |
| Metrics |
threat_severity
|
cvssV3_1
|
Feb 26, 2025 2:15 AM
Description updated. Title updated. Added references
View changes
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: openvswitch: fix leak of nested actions While parsing user-provided actions, openvswitch module may dynamically allocate memory and store pointers in the internal copy of the actions. So this memory has to be freed while destroying the actions. Currently there are only two such actions: ct() and set(). However, there are many actions that can hold nested lists of actions and ovs_nla_free_flow_actions() just jumps over them leaking the memory. For example, removal of the flow with the following actions will lead to a leak of the memory allocated by nf_ct_tmpl_alloc(): actions:clone(ct(commit),0) Non-freed set() action may also leak the 'dst' structure for the tunnel info including device references. Under certain conditions with a high rate of flow rotation that may cause significant memory leak problem (2MB per second in reporter's case). The problem is also hard to mitigate, because the user doesn't have direct control over the datapath flows generated by OVS. Fix that by iterating over all the nested actions and freeing everything that needs to be freed recursively. New build time assertion should protect us from this problem if new actions will be added in the future. Unfortunately, openvswitch module doesn't use NLA_F_NESTED, so all attributes has to be explicitly checked. sample() and clone() actions are mixing extra attributes into the user-provided action list. That prevents some code generalization too. | |
| Title | net: openvswitch: fix leak of nested actions | |
| References |
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Subscriptions
Weaknesses
-
CWE-401
Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
