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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2022-49436

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-02-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.18.3 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: powerpc/papr_scm: Fix leaking nvdimm_events_map elements Right now 'char *' elements allocated for individual 'stat_id' in 'papr_scm_priv.nvdimm_events_map[]' during papr_scm_pmu_check_events(), get leaked in papr_scm_remove() and papr_scm_pmu_register(), papr_scm_pmu_check_events() error paths. Also individual 'stat_id' arent NULL terminated 'char *' instead they are fixed 8-byte sized identifiers. However papr_scm_pmu_register() assumes it to be a NULL terminated 'char *' and at other places it assumes it to be a 'papr_scm_perf_stat.stat_id' sized string which is 8-byes in size. Fix this by allocating the memory for papr_scm_priv.nvdimm_events_map to also include space for 'stat_id' entries. This is possible since number of available events/stat_ids are known upfront. This saves some memory and one extra level of indirection from 'nvdimm_events_map' to 'stat_id'. Also rest of the code can continue to call 'kfree(papr_scm_priv.nvdimm_events_map)' without needing to iterate over the array and free up individual elements.

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:>= 5.18, < 5.18.3

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 5.18.3 or later
Fixed in 5.18.3
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 5.18.3 or later

  1. Identify systems running Linux kernel versions 5.18, 5.18.1, or 5.18.2 on POWERPC architecture with the papr_scm module loaded
  2. Obtain and install Linux kernel version 5.18.3 or later from your distribution's kernel repository or kernel.org
  3. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel version
  4. Verify the kernel version post-boot using 'uname -r' to confirm the fix is applied
Caveat Kernel upgrades carry inherent risk and should be tested in a non-production environment first; this fix addresses a memory leak in the POWERPC papr_scm module

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

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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-2022-49436 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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