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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2022-36402

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-09-16
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
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
An integer overflow vulnerability was found in vmwgfx driver in drivers/gpu/vmxgfx/vmxgfx_execbuf.c in GPU component of Linux kernel with device file '/dev/dri/renderD128 (or Dxxx)'. This flaw allows a local attacker with a user account on the system to gain privilege, causing a denial of service(DoS).

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

Integer overflow vulnerability in the vmwgfx GPU driver's execbuf handling (vmxgfx_execbuf.c) in the Linux kernel. The flaw exists when processing commands through the /dev/dri/renderDxxx device file, allowing a local unprivileged user to potentially escalate privileges and cause denial of service.

MitigationApply available Linux kernel security updates that address this vulnerability. If no vendor patch exists, implement input validation bounds checking in the execbuf command processing code to prevent integer overflow conditions.

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:all versions

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
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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. Verify if vmwgfx kernel module is loaded
    Run 'lsmod | grep vmwgfx' or check /proc/modules for vmwgfx presence
    Affected if The vmwgfx module is loaded into the kernel memory
  2. Confirm presence of /dev/dri/renderDxxx device
    List /dev/dri/ directory with 'ls -la /dev/dri/' to find renderD128 or similar device nodes
    Affected if The renderDxxx device file exists and is accessible
  3. Check if VMware virtual GPU hardware is present
    Examine lspci output for VMware SVGA or SVGA3 adapter with 'lspci | grep -i vmware' or 'lspci | grep -i svga'
    Affected if VMware GPU hardware is exposed to the virtual machine
  4. Determine running kernel version
    Run 'uname -r' to get the kernel version
    Affected if The kernel version is any release (all versions are affected per CVE details)

A system is affected if it has the vmwgfx driver loaded and the VMware GPU hardware/device exposed, regardless of kernel version since all versions are vulnerable

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply available Linux kernel security updates that address this vulnerability. If no vendor patch exists, implement input validation bounds checking in the execbuf command processing code to prevent integer overflow conditions.

Fix this in Linux Kernel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2022-36402 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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