CVE-2022-48709

What it actually does

Memory leak in ice_add_adv_recipe() when ice_add_special_words() fails because the 'rm' object is not freed before returning.

Why it matters to the business

Systems using affected Intel ice network drivers may experience gradual kernel memory exhaustion, potentially leading to degraded performance or instability under repeated error conditions in advanced receive flow setup.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker with local or network access that can induce repeated failures in ice_add_special_words() during advanced recipe addition triggers the unfreed allocation path, accumulating kernel memory over time until resource limits are hit.

How to fix it

Update the Linux kernel to a version containing commit 47f4ff6f23f00f5501ff2d7054c1a37c170a7aa0 which redirects to the err_unroll label on failure in ice_add_adv_recipe().

How to confirm the fix worked

Verify the presence of the err_unroll goto in ice_add_adv_recipe() after ice_add_special_words() failure, or confirm the running kernel includes commit 47f4ff6f23f00f5501ff2d7054c1a37c170a7aa0.

Typical attack path

1. Identify systems using Intel E800-series NICs with the ice driver
2. Trigger code paths that call ice_add_adv_recipe() under conditions causing ice_add_special_words() to fail
3. Repeat the triggering action to accumulate leaked memory allocations
4. Monitor for kernel memory pressure or OOM conditions resulting from the leak

How to detect it

Examine kernel memory usage trends and slab allocator statistics for unexpected growth in structures related to ice switch recipes; review dmesg or kernel logs for repeated ice driver error paths around advanced recipe addition.

What your security team should do

• Apply the referenced kernel commit or later stable release containing the fix
• Monitor EPSS and KEV status for any future changes indicating increased exploitability
• Audit environments for use of the ice driver and prioritize updates on high-uptime systems