# CVE-2022-21505: Security feature bypass in Oracle Linux

> Attackers with high privileges can bypass kernel lockdown via kexec when IMA appraisal is in log mode and Secure Boot is disabled.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 24 Dec 2024
- **Updated:** 14 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-21505, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-21505

## What is CVE-2022-21505?

CVE-2022-21505 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Oracle Linux, published on 24 Dec 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the linux kernel, if IMA appraisal is used with the "ima_appraise=log" boot param, lockdown can be defeated with kexec on any machine when Secure Boot is disabled or unavailable. IMA prevents setting "ima_appraise=log" from the boot param when Secure Boot is enabled, but this does not cover cases where lockdown is used without Secure Boot. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 6.7 (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Weakness: CWE-346 (Origin Validation Error)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-21505?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Oracle Linux.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-21505?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-21505 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-21505 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Oracle Linux

- [CVE-2015-5287](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-5287/): Red Hat Automatic Bug Reporting Tool Privilege Escalation (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2016-5408](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-5408/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-1714](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1714/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2015-3812](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3812/): Denial of service in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2015-2328](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2328/): Denial of service in n/a (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-21505 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-21505 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Oracle Linux, published on 24 Dec 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-21505 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Oracle Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-21505/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-21505/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-21505
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-21505
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-21505

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-21505/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.