Linux Kernel TPS6594 RTC Integer Overflow Vulnerability on 32-bit Systems

An integer overflow vulnerability has been identified in the Linux kernel's RTC (Real-Time Clock) driver for the TPS6594 chip, specifically on 32-bit systems. The issue arises in the 'tps6594_rtc_set_offset()' function, where the 'offset' variable, a long integer, is multiplied by 'TICKS_PER_HOUR'. On 32-bit systems, this multiplication can cause an overflow, as the maximum value a long can hold is just over two billion. The 'TICKS_PER_HOUR' constant is significantly large, approximately a hundred million, leading to the overflow when multiplied by certain offset values. The vulnerability has been addressed by changing the data type of 'TICKS_PER_HOUR' to long long, preventing the overflow.

Impact

Exploitation of this vulnerability could lead to incorrect timekeeping or potential memory corruption due to the integer overflow.