CVE-2022-50731

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: crypto: akcipher - default implementation for setting a private key Changes from v1: * removed the default implementation from set_pub_key: it is assumed that an implementation must always have this callback defined as there are no use case for an algorithm, which doesn't need a public key Many akcipher implementations (like ECDSA) support only signature verifications, so they don't have all callbacks defined. Commit 78a0324f4a53 ("crypto: akcipher - default implementations for request callbacks") introduced default callbacks for sign/verify operations, which just return an error code. However, these are not enough, because before calling sign the caller would likely call set_priv_key first on the instantiated transform (as the in-kernel testmgr does). This function does not have a default stub, so the kernel crashes, when trying to set a private key on an akcipher, which doesn't support signature generation. I've noticed this, when trying to add a KAT vector for ECDSA signature to the testmgr. With this patch the testmgr returns an error in dmesg (as it should) instead of crashing the kernel NULL ptr dereference.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2025-12-24
Last modified 2026-04-15
Patch available
Yes

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 5.2 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.4.220, 5.10.150, 5.15.75, 5.19.17, 6.0.3, 6.1 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 5.2
Fixed in
✓ 5.4.220 5.4.x ✓ 5.10.150 5.10.x ✓ 5.15.75 5.15.x ✓ 5.19.17 5.19.x ✓ 6.0.3 6.0.x ✓ 6.1

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2022-50731 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-2022-50731?

    CVE-2022-50731 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.2 onward and has been patched in 5.4.220, 5.10.150, 5.15.75 and others. CVE-2022-50731 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2022-50731?

    Yes — CVE-2022-50731 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.4.220, 5.10.150, 5.15.75 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.2 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2022-50731 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2022-50731 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.