What is CVE-2022-49096?

CVE-2022-49096 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, classified as a NULL Pointer Dereference flaw (CWE-476), affecting Linux kernel versions from 5.5 onward and patched in 5.15.34, 5.16.20, 5.17.3 and others. CVE-2022-49096 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2022-49096?

CVE-2022-49096 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity. 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-2022-49096?

Yes, CVE-2022-49096 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.15.34, 5.16.20, 5.17.3 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.5 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2022-49096 actively exploited?

CVE-2022-49096 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476)?

The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL, typically causing a crash. See MITRE CWE for full details: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/476.html

CVE-2022-49096

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: sfc: add missing xdp queue reinitialization After rx/tx ring buffer size is changed, kernel panic occurs when it acts XDP_TX or XDP_REDIRECT. When tx/rx ring buffer size is changed(ethtool -G), sfc driver reallocates and reinitializes rx and tx queues and their buffer (tx_queue->buffer). But it misses reinitializing xdp queues(efx->xdp_tx_queues). So, while it is acting XDP_TX or XDP_REDIRECT, it uses the uninitialized tx_queue->buffer. A new function efx_set_xdp_channels() is separated from efx_set_channels() to handle only xdp queues. Splat looks like: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 000000000000002a #PF: supervisor write access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0002) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: 0002 [#4] PREEMPT SMP NOPTI RIP: 0010:efx_tx_map_chunk+0x54/0x90 [sfc] CPU: 2 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/2 Tainted: G D 5.17.0+ #55 e8beeee8289528f11357029357cf Code: 48 8b 8d a8 01 00 00 48 8d 14 52 4c 8d 2c d0 44 89 e0 48 85 c9 74 0e 44 89 e2 4c 89 f6 48 80 RSP: 0018:ffff92f121e45c60 EFLAGS: 00010297 RIP: 0010:efx_tx_map_chunk+0x54/0x90 [sfc] RAX: 0000000000000040 RBX: ffff92ea506895c0 RCX: ffffffffc0330870 RDX: 0000000000000001 RSI: 00000001139b10ce RDI: ffff92ea506895c0 RBP: ffffffffc0358a80 R08: 00000001139b110d R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000001 R11: ffff92ea414c0088 R12: 0000000000000040 R13: 0000000000000018 R14: 00000001139b10ce R15: ffff92ea506895c0 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff92f121ec0000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 Code: 48 8b 8d a8 01 00 00 48 8d 14 52 4c 8d 2c d0 44 89 e0 48 85 c9 74 0e 44 89 e2 4c 89 f6 48 80 CR2: 000000000000002a CR3: 00000003e6810004 CR4: 00000000007706e0 RSP: 0018:ffff92f121e85c60 EFLAGS: 00010297 PKRU: 55555554 RAX: 0000000000000040 RBX: ffff92ea50689700 RCX: ffffffffc0330870 RDX: 0000000000000001 RSI: 00000001145a90ce RDI: ffff92ea50689700 RBP: ffffffffc0358a80 R08: 00000001145a910d R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000001 R11: ffff92ea414c0088 R12: 0000000000000040 R13: 0000000000000018 R14: 00000001145a90ce R15: ffff92ea50689700 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff92f121e80000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 000000000000002a CR3: 00000003e6810005 CR4: 00000000007706e0 PKRU: 55555554 Call Trace: <IRQ> efx_xdp_tx_buffers+0x12b/0x3d0 [sfc 84c94b8e32d44d296c17e10a634d3ad454de4ba5] __efx_rx_packet+0x5c3/0x930 [sfc 84c94b8e32d44d296c17e10a634d3ad454de4ba5] efx_rx_packet+0x28c/0x2e0 [sfc 84c94b8e32d44d296c17e10a634d3ad454de4ba5] efx_ef10_ev_process+0x5f8/0xf40 [sfc 84c94b8e32d44d296c17e10a634d3ad454de4ba5] ? enqueue_task_fair+0x95/0x550 efx_poll+0xc4/0x360 [sfc 84c94b8e32d44d296c17e10a634d3ad454de4ba5]

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2025-02-26

Last modified 2025-10-01

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-476

CVE-2022-49096 is a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability

What is NULL Pointer Dereference?

The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL, typically causing a crash. Learn more on MITRE CWE

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 5.5 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.15.34, 5.16.20, 5.17.3, 5.18 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 5.5

Fixed in

✓ 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-2022-49096 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/059a47f1da93811d37533556d67e72f2261b1127
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b8c46bc358d84701e7f7ffa054037db25f25da0e
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dcc85e1593686e42c6749ef3d356db34759d59e8
Patch

4 patch commits total View all on NVD

Details

CVE ID CVE-2022-49096

Severity Medium

CVSS score 5.5 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2025-02-26

Modified 2025-10-01

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2022-49096?

CVE-2022-49096 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 , classified as a NULL Pointer Dereference flaw (CWE-476) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.5 onward and has been patched in 5.15.34, 5.16.20, 5.17.3 and others. CVE-2022-49096 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2022-49096?

CVE-2022-49096 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-2022-49096?

Yes — CVE-2022-49096 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.15.34, 5.16.20, 5.17.3 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.5 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2022-49096 actively exploited?

No — CVE-2022-49096 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
What is NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476)?

The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL, typically causing a crash. View CWE-476 on MITRE CWE →