CVE-2022-48776

What it actually does

Missing free of pparts structure in the smem cleanup function for the Qualcomm MTD parser results in a kernel memory leak on repeated partition parsing operations.

Why it matters to the business

Gradual memory exhaustion on embedded or Android devices using Qualcomm storage partitions can lead to system instability or crashes after prolonged operation, increasing maintenance burden for large fleets.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker with local access or the ability to trigger MTD partition enumeration repeatedly causes the kernel to allocate pparts structures without releasing them, eventually exhausting memory; no remote code execution path exists from this flaw alone.

How to fix it

Apply the upstream fix from commit 62fb9874f5da54fdb243003b386128037319b219 or upgrade to a Linux kernel release containing this commit; rebuild and deploy the patched kernel image to all affected systems.

How to confirm the fix worked

Verify the running kernel contains commit 62fb9874f5da54fdb243003b386128037319b219 via git log or kernel version string; monitor for absence of the leak using kmemleak or similar tools during repeated MTD operations.

Typical attack path

1. Obtain local execution context on a device running the vulnerable kernel
2. Trigger MTD partition parsing involving the qcom smem parser (e.g., via storage initialization or driver reload)
3. Repeat the triggering action to accumulate unfreed allocations
4. Observe system-wide memory pressure or OOM events

How to detect it

Review kernel logs for repeated MTD/qcom parser activity and correlate with increasing slab memory usage; examine kmemleak reports or /proc/meminfo trends on systems running the vulnerable parser code.

What your security team should do

• Prioritize kernel updates for all Qualcomm-based embedded and Android devices within standard patch cycles
• Include the fixed commit hash in internal kernel build verification
• Add memory-leak regression tests covering the qcom smem parser to CI pipelines