Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2022-49496

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: media: mediatek: vcodec: prevent kernel crash when rmmod mtk-vcodec-dec.ko If the driver support subdev mode, the parameter "dev->pm.dev" will be NULL in mtk_vcodec_dec_remove. Kernel will crash when try to rmmod mtk-vcodec-dec.ko. [ 4380.702726] pc : do_raw_spin_trylock+0x4/0x80 [ 4380.707075] lr : _raw_spin_lock_irq+0x90/0x14c [ 4380.711509] sp : ffff80000819bc10 [ 4380.714811] x29: ffff80000819bc10 x28: ffff3600c03e4000 x27: 0000000000000000 [ 4380.721934] x26: 0000000000000000 x25: 0000000000000000 x24: 0000000000000000 [ 4380.729057] x23: ffff3600c0f34930 x22: ffffd5e923549000 x21: 0000000000000220 [ 4380.736179] x20: 0000000000000208 x19: ffffd5e9213e8ebc x18: 0000000000000020 [ 4380.743298] x17: 0000002000000000 x16: ffffd5e9213e8e90 x15: 696c346f65646976 [ 4380.750420] x14: 0000000000000000 x13: 0000000000000001 x12: 0000000000000040 [ 4380.757542] x11: 0000000000000000 x10: 0000000000000000 x9 : 0000000000000000 [ 4380.764664] x8 : 0000000000000000 x7 : ffff3600c7273ae8 x6 : ffffd5e9213e8ebc [ 4380.771786] x5 : 0000000000000000 x4 : 0000000000000001 x3 : 0000000000000000 [ 4380.778908] x2 : 0000000000000000 x1 : ffff3600c03e4000 x0 : 0000000000000208 [ 4380.786031] Call trace: [ 4380.788465] do_raw_spin_trylock+0x4/0x80 [ 4380.792462] __pm_runtime_disable+0x2c/0x1b0 [ 4380.796723] mtk_vcodec_dec_remove+0x5c/0xa0 [mtk_vcodec_dec] [ 4380.802466] platform_remove+0x2c/0x60 [ 4380.806204] __device_release_driver+0x194/0x250 [ 4380.810810] driver_detach+0xc8/0x15c [ 4380.814462] bus_remove_driver+0x5c/0xb0 [ 4380.818375] driver_unregister+0x34/0x64 [ 4380.822288] platform_driver_unregister+0x18/0x24 [ 4380.826979] mtk_vcodec_dec_driver_exit+0x1c/0x888 [mtk_vcodec_dec] [ 4380.833240] __arm64_sys_delete_module+0x190/0x224 [ 4380.838020] invoke_syscall+0x48/0x114 [ 4380.841760] el0_svc_common.constprop.0+0x60/0x11c [ 4380.846540] do_el0_svc+0x28/0x90 [ 4380.849844] el0_svc+0x4c/0x100 [ 4380.852975] el0t_64_sync_handler+0xec/0xf0 [ 4380.857148] el0t_64_sync+0x190/0x194 [ 4380.860801] Code: 94431515 17ffffca d503201f d503245f (b9400004)

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-667

Shared resources are accessed without correct locking, so concurrent operations interleave into inconsistent — and sometimes exploitable — states, or deadlock the service outright. These bugs are subtle and timing-dependent. The fix is correct, consistent locking or atomic operations around every shared resource.

General guidance for the improper locking 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:< 5.18.3

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 (including stable updates)

  1. Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 5.18.3 or later. This version includes the fix from commit 1fa37b00dc55a061a3eb82e378849862b4aeca9d which adds a NULL check for dev->pm.dev before calling pm_runtime_disable() in mtk_vcodec_dec_remove, preventing the kernel crash when unloading the mtk-vcodec-dec module.
  2. If upgrading the kernel is not immediately feasible, ensure the mtk-vcodec-dec module is not loaded when the system is in subdev mode, or avoid using the MediaTek video codec driver in configurations where subdev mode is enabled.
  3. Verify the current kernel version with `uname -r` and confirm it is >= 5.18.3 after upgrade.
Caveat Kernel upgrades may introduce regressions in other drivers or change user-space API/ABI. Ensure compatibility testing is performed, particularly for any media/graphics workloads using the Mediatek video codec.

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
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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-2022-49496 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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