Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2022-49526
A fix is available.
Upgrade to 4.19.247 / 5.4.198 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 · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: md/bitmap: don't set sb values if can't pass sanity check If bitmap area contains invalid data, kernel will crash then mdadm triggers "Segmentation fault". This is cluster-md speical bug. In non-clustered env, mdadm will handle broken metadata case. In clustered array, only kernel space handles bitmap slot info. But even this bug only happened in clustered env, current sanity check is wrong, the code should be changed. How to trigger: (faulty injection) dd if=/dev/zero bs=1M count=1 oflag=direct of=/dev/sda dd if=/dev/zero bs=1M count=1 oflag=direct of=/dev/sdb mdadm -C /dev/md0 -b clustered -e 1.2 -n 2 -l mirror /dev/sda /dev/sdb mdadm -Ss echo aaa > magic.txt == below modifying slot 2 bitmap data == dd if=magic.txt of=/dev/sda seek=16384 bs=1 count=3 <== destroy magic dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda seek=16436 bs=1 count=4 <== ZERO chunksize mdadm -A /dev/md0 /dev/sda /dev/sdb == kernel crashes. mdadm outputs "Segmentation fault" == Reason of kernel crash: In md_bitmap_read_sb (called by md_bitmap_create), bad bitmap magic didn't block chunksize assignment, and zero value made DIV_ROUND_UP_SECTOR_T() trigger "divide error". Crash log: kernel: md: md0 stopped. kernel: md/raid1:md0: not clean -- starting background reconstruction kernel: md/raid1:md0: active with 2 out of 2 mirrors kernel: dlm: ... ... kernel: md-cluster: Joined cluster 44810aba-38bb-e6b8-daca-bc97a0b254aa slot 1 kernel: md0: invalid bitmap file superblock: bad magic kernel: md_bitmap_copy_from_slot can't get bitmap from slot 2 kernel: md-cluster: Could not gather bitmaps from slot 2 kernel: divide error: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI kernel: CPU: 0 PID: 1603 Comm: mdadm Not tainted 5.14.6-1-default kernel: Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996) kernel: RIP: 0010:md_bitmap_create+0x1d1/0x850 [md_mod] kernel: RSP: 0018:ffffc22ac0843ba0 EFLAGS: 00010246 kernel: ... ... kernel: Call Trace: kernel: ? dlm_lock_sync+0xd0/0xd0 [md_cluster 77fe..7a0] kernel: md_bitmap_copy_from_slot+0x2c/0x290 [md_mod 24ea..d3a] kernel: load_bitmaps+0xec/0x210 [md_cluster 77fe..7a0] kernel: md_bitmap_load+0x81/0x1e0 [md_mod 24ea..d3a] kernel: do_md_run+0x30/0x100 [md_mod 24ea..d3a] kernel: md_ioctl+0x1290/0x15a0 [md_mod 24ea....d3a] kernel: ? mddev_unlock+0xaa/0x130 [md_mod 24ea..d3a] kernel: ? blkdev_ioctl+0xb1/0x2b0 kernel: block_ioctl+0x3b/0x40 kernel: __x64_sys_ioctl+0x7f/0xb0 kernel: do_syscall_64+0x59/0x80 kernel: ? exit_to_user_mode_prepare+0x1ab/0x230 kernel: ? syscall_exit_to_user_mode+0x18/0x40 kernel: ? do_syscall_64+0x69/0x80 kernel: entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae kernel: RIP: 0033:0x7f4a15fa722b kernel: ... ... kernel: ---[ end trace 8afa7612f559c868 ]--- kernel: RIP: 0010:md_bitmap_create+0x1d1/0x850 [md_mod]
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-476
The code follows a pointer that is null, crashing the process. An attacker who can reliably trigger it turns the crash into a denial of service. The fix is checking for null before use and handling the failure path gracefully.
General guidance for the null pointer dereference 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:
< 4.19.247>= 4.20, < 5.4.198>= 5.5, < 5.10.121>= 5.11, < 5.15.46>= 5.16, < 5.17.14>= 5.18, < 5.18.3CVSS 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 4.19.247 / 5.4.198 / 5.10.121 or later
Fixed in
4.19.2475.4.1985.10.121
Vendor patch
git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix
High confidence
Upgrade to kernel version 4.19.247 / 5.4.198 / 5.10.121 / 5.15.46 or later (or use a newer stable kernel)
- Identify the current kernel version using `uname -r`
- Determine which stable kernel branch you are running (e.g., 4.19, 5.4, 5.10, 5.11, 5.15)
- Upgrade to a fixed kernel version: for 4.19 branch use >= 4.19.247, for 5.4 branch use >= 5.4.198, for 5.10 branch use >= 5.10.121, for 5.15 branch use >= 5.15.46
- Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
- Verify the kernel version after reboot using `uname -r` to confirm the fix is applied
- If using a distribution kernel (e.g., RHEL, Ubuntu, Debian), apply the distribution's security update which includes this upstream fix
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system downtime and should be tested in a non-production environment first; some kernel parameters or modules may behave differently in newer versions
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 $2,850.
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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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-49526 in production — separate from our analysis above.
Know something about CVE-2022-49526?
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
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