Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2022-49649
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: xen/netback: avoid entering xenvif_rx_next_skb() with an empty rx queue xenvif_rx_next_skb() is expecting the rx queue not being empty, but in case the loop in xenvif_rx_action() is doing multiple iterations, the availability of another skb in the rx queue is not being checked. This can lead to crashes: [40072.537261] BUG: unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at 0000000000000080 [40072.537407] IP: xenvif_rx_skb+0x23/0x590 [xen_netback] [40072.537534] PGD 0 P4D 0 [40072.537644] Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI [40072.537749] CPU: 0 PID: 12505 Comm: v1-c40247-q2-gu Not tainted 4.12.14-122.121-default #1 SLE12-SP5 [40072.537867] Hardware name: HP ProLiant DL580 Gen9/ProLiant DL580 Gen9, BIOS U17 11/23/2021 [40072.537999] task: ffff880433b38100 task.stack: ffffc90043d40000 [40072.538112] RIP: e030:xenvif_rx_skb+0x23/0x590 [xen_netback] [40072.538217] RSP: e02b:ffffc90043d43de0 EFLAGS: 00010246 [40072.538319] RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffffc90043cd7cd0 RCX: 00000000000000f7 [40072.538430] RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000006 RDI: ffffc90043d43df8 [40072.538531] RBP: 000000000000003f R08: 000077ff80000000 R09: 0000000000000008 [40072.538644] R10: 0000000000007ff0 R11: 00000000000008f6 R12: ffffc90043ce2708 [40072.538745] R13: 0000000000000000 R14: ffffc90043d43ed0 R15: ffff88043ea748c0 [40072.538861] FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff880484600000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [40072.538988] CS: e033 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [40072.539088] CR2: 0000000000000080 CR3: 0000000407ac8000 CR4: 0000000000040660 [40072.539211] Call Trace: [40072.539319] xenvif_rx_action+0x71/0x90 [xen_netback] [40072.539429] xenvif_kthread_guest_rx+0x14a/0x29c [xen_netback] Fix that by stopping the loop in case the rx queue becomes empty.
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 analysisThe 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
>= 4.9, < 4.9.324>= 4.10, < 4.14.289>= 4.15, < 4.19.253>= 4.20, < 5.4.207>= 5.5, < 5.10.132>= 5.11, < 5.15.56>= 5.16, < 5.18.13= 5.19CVSS 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 · scoped4.9.3244.14.2894.19.253
5.4.207 or later (or the equivalent fixed version from your stable branch: 4.9.324, 4.14.289, or 4.19.253)
- Identify the current kernel version using `uname -r`
- Determine which stable branch the current kernel belongs to (4.9.x, 4.14.x, 4.19.x, or 5.4.x)
- For 4.9.x: upgrade to kernel version 4.9.324 or later
- For 4.14.x: upgrade to kernel version 4.14.289 or later
- For 4.19.x: upgrade to kernel version 4.19.253 or later
- For 5.4.x: upgrade to kernel version 5.4.207 or later
- Use the distribution's package manager (e.g., `apt-get dist-upgrade`, `yum update`, or vendor-specific kernel packages) to apply the kernel update
- Reboot the system to load the new kernel
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-49649 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
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-2022-49649 in production — separate from our analysis above.
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
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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