CVE-2022-50144

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: soundwire: revisit driver bind/unbind and callbacks In the SoundWire probe, we store a pointer from the driver ops into the 'slave' structure. This can lead to kernel oopses when unbinding codec drivers, e.g. with the following sequence to remove machine driver and codec driver. /sbin/modprobe -r snd_soc_sof_sdw /sbin/modprobe -r snd_soc_rt711 The full details can be found in the BugLink below, for reference the two following examples show different cases of driver ops/callbacks being invoked after the driver .remove(). kernel: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000150 kernel: Workqueue: events cdns_update_slave_status_work [soundwire_cadence] kernel: RIP: 0010:mutex_lock+0x19/0x30 kernel: Call Trace: kernel: ? sdw_handle_slave_status+0x426/0xe00 [soundwire_bus 94ff184bf398570c3f8ff7efe9e32529f532e4ae] kernel: ? newidle_balance+0x26a/0x400 kernel: ? cdns_update_slave_status_work+0x1e9/0x200 [soundwire_cadence 1bcf98eebe5ba9833cd433323769ac923c9c6f82] kernel: BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffffffffc07654c8 kernel: Workqueue: pm pm_runtime_work kernel: RIP: 0010:sdw_bus_prep_clk_stop+0x6f/0x160 [soundwire_bus] kernel: Call Trace: kernel: <TASK> kernel: sdw_cdns_clock_stop+0xb5/0x1b0 [soundwire_cadence 1bcf98eebe5ba9833cd433323769ac923c9c6f82] kernel: intel_suspend_runtime+0x5f/0x120 [soundwire_intel aca858f7c87048d3152a4a41bb68abb9b663a1dd] kernel: ? dpm_sysfs_remove+0x60/0x60 This was not detected earlier in Intel tests since the tests first remove the parent PCI device and shut down the bus. The sequence above is a corner case which keeps the bus operational but without a driver bound. While trying to solve this kernel oopses, it became clear that the existing SoundWire bus does not deal well with the unbind case. Commit 528be501b7d4a ("soundwire: sdw_slave: add probe_complete structure and new fields") added a 'probed' status variable and a 'probe_complete' struct completion. This status is however not reset on remove and likewise the 'probe complete' is not re-initialized, so the bind/unbind/bind test cases would fail. The timeout used before the 'update_status' callback was also a bad idea in hindsight, there should really be no timing assumption as to if and when a driver is bound to a device. An initial draft was based on device_lock() and device_unlock() was tested. This proved too complicated, with deadlocks created during the suspend-resume sequences, which also use the same device_lock/unlock() as the bind/unbind sequences. On a CometLake device, a bad DSDT/BIOS caused spurious resumes and the use of device_lock() caused hangs during suspend. After multiple weeks or testing and painful reverse-engineering of deadlocks on different devices, we looked for alternatives that did not interfere with the device core. A bus notifier was used successfully to keep track of DRIVER_BOUND and DRIVER_UNBIND events. This solved the bind-unbind-bind case in tests, but it can still be defeated with a theoretical corner case where the memory is freed by a .remove while the callback is in use. The notifier only helps make sure the driver callbacks are valid, but not that the memory allocated in probe remains valid while the callbacks are invoked. This patch suggests the introduction of a new 'sdw_dev_lock' mutex protecting probe/remove and all driver callbacks. Since this mutex is 'local' to SoundWire only, it does not interfere with existing locks and does not create deadlocks. In addition, this patch removes the 'probe_complete' completion, instead we directly invoke the 'update_status' from the probe routine. That removes any sort of timing dependency and a much better support for the device/driver model, the driver could be bound before the bus started, or eons after the bus started and the hardware would be properly initialized in all cases. BugLink: https://github.com/thesofproject/linux/is ---truncated---

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2025-06-18
Last modified 2025-11-20
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-2022-50144 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 4.16 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.15.61, 5.18.18, 5.19.2, 6.0 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 4.16
Fixed in
✓ 5.15.61 5.15.x ✓ 5.18.18 5.18.x ✓ 5.19.2 5.19.x ✓ 6.0

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2022-50144 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-2022-50144?

    CVE-2022-50144 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 4.16 onward and has been patched in 5.15.61, 5.18.18, 5.19.2 and others. CVE-2022-50144 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2022-50144?

    CVE-2022-50144 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-2022-50144?

    Yes — CVE-2022-50144 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.15.61, 5.18.18, 5.19.2 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.16 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2022-50144 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2022-50144 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 →