CVE-2022-50545

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: r6040: Fix kmemleak in probe and remove There is a memory leaks reported by kmemleak: unreferenced object 0xffff888116111000 (size 2048): comm "modprobe", pid 817, jiffies 4294759745 (age 76.502s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 c4 0a 04 81 88 ff ff 08 10 11 16 81 88 ff ff ................ 08 10 11 16 81 88 ff ff 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ backtrace: [<ffffffff815bcd82>] kmalloc_trace+0x22/0x60 [<ffffffff827e20ee>] phy_device_create+0x4e/0x90 [<ffffffff827e6072>] get_phy_device+0xd2/0x220 [<ffffffff827e7844>] mdiobus_scan+0xa4/0x2e0 [<ffffffff827e8be2>] __mdiobus_register+0x482/0x8b0 [<ffffffffa01f5d24>] r6040_init_one+0x714/0xd2c [r6040] ... The problem occurs in probe process as follows: r6040_init_one: mdiobus_register mdiobus_scan <- alloc and register phy_device, the reference count of phy_device is 3 r6040_mii_probe phy_connect <- connect to the first phy_device, so the reference count of the first phy_device is 4, others are 3 register_netdev <- fault inject succeeded, goto error handling path // error handling path err_out_mdio_unregister: mdiobus_unregister(lp->mii_bus); err_out_mdio: mdiobus_free(lp->mii_bus); <- the reference count of the first phy_device is 1, it is not released and other phy_devices are released // similarly, the remove process also has the same problem The root cause is traced to the phy_device is not disconnected when removes one r6040 device in r6040_remove_one() or on error handling path after r6040_mii probed successfully. In r6040_mii_probe(), a net ethernet device is connected to the first PHY device of mii_bus, in order to notify the connected driver when the link status changes, which is the default behavior of the PHY infrastructure to handle everything. Therefore the phy_device should be disconnected when removes one r6040 device or on error handling path. Fix it by adding phy_disconnect() when removes one r6040 device or on error handling path after r6040_mii probed successfully.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2025-10-07
Last modified 2026-02-26
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-2022-50545 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 2.6.36 and later are affected. Fixed in 4.9.337, 4.14.303, 4.19.270, 5.4.229, 5.10.163, 5.15.86, 6.0.16, 6.1.2, 6.2 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 2.6.36
Fixed in
✓ 4.9.337 4.9.x ✓ 4.14.303 4.14.x ✓ 4.19.270 4.19.x ✓ 5.4.229 5.4.x ✓ 5.10.163 5.10.x ✓ 5.15.86 5.15.x ✓ 6.0.16 6.0.x ✓ 6.1.2 6.1.x ✓ 6.2

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2022-50545 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-2022-50545?

    CVE-2022-50545 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 2.6.36 onward and has been patched in 4.9.337, 4.14.303, 4.19.270 and others. CVE-2022-50545 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2022-50545?

    CVE-2022-50545 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-2022-50545?

    Yes — CVE-2022-50545 has been patched. Fixed versions include 4.9.337, 4.14.303, 4.19.270 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 2.6.36 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2022-50545 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2022-50545 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 →