CVE-2022-49032 is a vulnerability identified in the Linux kernel specifically within the Industrial I/O (IIO) subsystem's health driver for the AFE4404 sensor chip. The flaw is an out-of-bounds (OOB) read occurring in the functions afe4404_read_raw and afe4404_write_raw. The root cause is that the arrays afe4404_channel_leds and afe4404_channel_offdacs have fewer elements than the number of channels accessed, leading to an invalid memory read when the code attempts to access these arrays using channel addresses. This vulnerability was detected via Kernel Address Sanitizer (KASAN), which reported a global out-of-bounds read triggered by a simple command reading from the sysfs interface of the affected device. The issue can be reproduced by executing a read operation on the sysfs file /sys/bus/i2c/devices/0-0058/iio:device0/in_intensity6_raw. The fix involves reordering the access to these arrays to ensure bounds checking before usage, preventing the OOB read. Although the vulnerability does not appear to have known exploits in the wild, it affects multiple versions of the Linux kernel as indicated by the repeated commit hashes. This vulnerability is classified as a memory safety issue that could potentially lead to information disclosure or kernel instability if exploited. However, it requires local access to the device node representing the sensor, and the attack vector involves reading from specific sysfs entries related to the IIO subsystem.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2022-49032 depends largely on the deployment of Linux systems utilizing the affected IIO drivers, particularly those interfacing with AFE4404 sensor hardware. Industrial control systems, embedded devices, IoT gateways, and specialized hardware running Linux kernels with this driver could be vulnerable. An attacker with local access could exploit this vulnerability to cause kernel crashes or potentially leak sensitive kernel memory, which might lead to privilege escalation or information disclosure. While remote exploitation is unlikely without prior access, environments with multi-tenant Linux systems, shared hosting, or exposed device interfaces could be at risk. Critical infrastructure sectors such as manufacturing, energy, and healthcare in Europe that rely on embedded Linux devices for sensor data acquisition might face operational disruptions or data integrity issues. Additionally, the vulnerability could be leveraged as a stepping stone in a multi-stage attack chain targeting kernel-level compromise. Given the widespread use of Linux in European enterprises and industrial environments, unpatched systems could face increased risk of stability issues and targeted attacks exploiting this flaw.

European organizations should prioritize patching Linux kernels to versions where this vulnerability is fixed, ensuring that the afe4404 driver accesses arrays with proper bounds checking. Specifically, system administrators should: 1) Identify all Linux systems running kernels with the affected commit hashes or versions containing the vulnerable afe4404 driver. 2) Apply official Linux kernel updates or backported patches from trusted vendors that address CVE-2022-49032. 3) Restrict access permissions to sysfs entries under /sys/bus/i2c/devices/ related to the IIO subsystem to trusted users only, minimizing local attack surface. 4) Implement monitoring for unusual access patterns or crashes related to the IIO subsystem to detect exploitation attempts. 5) For embedded or industrial devices where kernel updates are challenging, consider isolating affected devices from untrusted users and networks. 6) Engage with hardware and Linux distribution vendors to confirm patch availability and deployment timelines. 7) Incorporate this vulnerability into vulnerability management and incident response plans to ensure timely detection and remediation.