CVE-2022-49086

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: openvswitch: fix leak of nested actions While parsing user-provided actions, openvswitch module may dynamically allocate memory and store pointers in the internal copy of the actions. So this memory has to be freed while destroying the actions. Currently there are only two such actions: ct() and set(). However, there are many actions that can hold nested lists of actions and ovs_nla_free_flow_actions() just jumps over them leaking the memory. For example, removal of the flow with the following actions will lead to a leak of the memory allocated by nf_ct_tmpl_alloc(): actions:clone(ct(commit),0) Non-freed set() action may also leak the 'dst' structure for the tunnel info including device references. Under certain conditions with a high rate of flow rotation that may cause significant memory leak problem (2MB per second in reporter's case). The problem is also hard to mitigate, because the user doesn't have direct control over the datapath flows generated by OVS. Fix that by iterating over all the nested actions and freeing everything that needs to be freed recursively. New build time assertion should protect us from this problem if new actions will be added in the future. Unfortunately, openvswitch module doesn't use NLA_F_NESTED, so all attributes has to be explicitly checked. sample() and clone() actions are mixing extra attributes into the user-provided action list. That prevents some code generalization too.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2025-02-26
Last modified 2025-09-23
CVSS version 3.1
Patch available
Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

5.5

out of 10
Medium
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
High
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness type

CWE-401

CVE-2022-49086 is a Memory Leak vulnerability

What is Memory Leak?

The product does not release memory after use, causing gradual resource exhaustion. Learn more on MITRE CWE

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 4.3 and later are affected. Fixed in 4.19.249, 5.4.200, 5.10.111, 5.15.34, 5.16.20, 5.17.3, 5.18 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 4.3
Fixed in
✓ 4.19.249 4.19.x ✓ 5.4.200 5.4.x ✓ 5.10.111 5.10.x ✓ 5.15.34 5.15.x ✓ 5.16.20 5.16.x ✓ 5.17.3 5.17.x ✓ 5.18

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2022-49086 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2022-49086?

    CVE-2022-49086 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 , classified as a Memory Leak flaw (CWE-401) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 4.3 onward and has been patched in 4.19.249, 5.4.200, 5.10.111 and others. CVE-2022-49086 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2022-49086?

    CVE-2022-49086 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H .

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2022-49086?

    Yes — CVE-2022-49086 has been patched. Fixed versions include 4.19.249, 5.4.200, 5.10.111 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.3 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2022-49086 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2022-49086 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

  • What is Memory Leak (CWE-401)?

    The product does not release memory after use, causing gradual resource exhaustion. View CWE-401 on MITRE CWE →