Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2022-48975

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-10-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.15.83 / 6.0.13 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

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
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gpiolib: fix memory leak in gpiochip_setup_dev() Here is a backtrace report about memory leak detected in gpiochip_setup_dev(): unreferenced object 0xffff88810b406400 (size 512): comm "python3", pid 1682, jiffies 4295346908 (age 24.090s) backtrace: kmalloc_trace device_add device_private_init at drivers/base/core.c:3361 (inlined by) device_add at drivers/base/core.c:3411 cdev_device_add gpiolib_cdev_register gpiochip_setup_dev gpiochip_add_data_with_key gcdev_register() & gcdev_unregister() would call device_add() & device_del() (no matter CONFIG_GPIO_CDEV is enabled or not) to register/unregister device. However, if device_add() succeeds, some resource (like struct device_private allocated by device_private_init()) is not released by device_del(). Therefore, after device_add() succeeds by gcdev_register(), it needs to call put_device() to release resource in the error handle path. Here we move forward the register of release function, and let it release every piece of resource by put_device() instead of kfree(). While at it, fix another subtle issue, i.e. when gc->ngpio is equal to 0, we still call kcalloc() and, in case of further error, kfree() on the ZERO_PTR pointer, which is not NULL. It's not a bug per se, but rather waste of the resources and potentially wrong expectation about contents of the gdev->descs variable.

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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-401

Allocated memory is never released on some path, so a long-running service or a repeatedly triggered request steadily consumes memory until performance degrades or the process crashes. Attackers exploit it by simply driving the leaking path. Remediation is pairing every allocation with a release and using ownership patterns or tooling to catch what leaks.

General guidance for the memory leak class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

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:>= 4.6, < 5.15.83>= 5.16, < 6.0.13= 6.1

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

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 5.15.83 / 6.0.13 or later
Fixed in 5.15.836.0.13
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel 5.15.83, 6.0.13, or 6.2+ (choose appropriate branch)

  1. Identify the currently running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Check if the running kernel version is one of the affected versions: 4.6 to 5.15.82, 5.16 to 6.0.12, or 6.1
  3. If affected, plan for a system reboot after upgrading the kernel
  4. Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 5.15.83 or higher (if currently on 5.15.x branch), to version 6.0.13 or higher (if currently on 5.16-6.0.x branch), or to version 6.2 or higher (if currently on 6.1)
  5. On Debian/Ubuntu: run `apt update && apt install linux-image-<version>` and reboot
  6. On RHEL/CentOS: run `yum install kernel-<version>` and reboot
  7. On Fedora: run `dnf install kernel-<version>` and reboot
  8. Verify the new kernel version after reboot with `uname -r`
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require matching kernel modules and could introduce compatibility changes with custom drivers or modules; ensure all proprietary drivers support the target kernel version before upgrading

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

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $1,600. Get the upgrade done

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2022-48975 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
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