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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2022-1280

MEDIUM · 6.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-04-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 5.17.4 or later.
See remediation →
65/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A use-after-free vulnerability was found in drm_lease_held in drivers/gpu/drm/drm_lease.c in the Linux kernel due to a race problem. This flaw allows a local user privilege attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) or a kernel information leak.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

A use-after-free vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's DRM (Direct Rendering Manager) lease functionality in drivers/gpu/drm/drm_lease.c. The flaw in the drm_lease_held function stems from a race condition that allows a local unprivileged user to potentially cause a denial of service or leak kernel memory information.

MitigationApply the upstream kernel patch or update to a Linux kernel version that includes the fix for the race condition in drm_lease.c.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 5.17, <= 5.17.4
Enterprise LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 8.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check kernel version
    Run 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version' to identify the installed Linux kernel version
    Affected if The kernel version is between 5.17 and 5.17.4 inclusive, or is version 5.17.x for RHEL 8.0
  2. Verify DRM subsystem is loaded
    Run 'lsmod | grep drm' or check /sys/module/drm/version to see if the Direct Rendering Manager kernel module is loaded
    Affected if The drm module is loaded and the system has a GPU that uses DRM
  3. Confirm DRM lease capability exists
    Check if the kernel was compiled with DRM lease support by looking for 'CONFIG_DRM_LEASE' in /boot/config-$(uname -r) or running 'modinfo drm'
    Affected if CONFIG_DRM_LEASE is set to 'y' or 'm' in the kernel configuration
  4. Check for active DRM lease files
    Inspect /sys/class/drm/ for lease-related entries or check /dev/dri/ for card* devices that may be under lease
    Affected if There are active DRM lease devices or the system is using DRM lease functionality with multiple users
  5. Review drm_lease.c source version
    If accessible, compare the system's /usr/src/linux/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_lease.c source file against the upstream fix commit for the race condition
    Affected if The drm_lease.c source lacks the use-after-free fix and contains the vulnerable drm_lease_held function code

A system is affected if it runs a Linux kernel 5.17.0 through 5.17.4 or RHEL 8.0 kernel, has the DRM subsystem loaded, and uses the DRM lease functionality with multiple display clients.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 5.17.4
Interim mitigation

Apply the upstream kernel patch or update to a Linux kernel version that includes the fix for the race condition in drm_lease.c.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Linux Kernel 5.17.5 or later / RHEL 8.x kernel update

  1. 1. Identify the current kernel version running: `uname -r`
  2. 2. For mainline Linux: upgrade to kernel version 5.17.5 or later (stable release containing the fix)
  3. 3. For Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.0: apply the Red Hat kernel update package for RHEL 8.x that addresses this CVE
  4. 4. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  5. 5. Verify the fix by running `uname -r` to confirm the new kernel version and checking that drm_lease.c is updated
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could introduce compatibility issues with custom kernel modules or older drivers

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Linux Kernel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,900
Get the upgrade done

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Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-1280 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data