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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2022-49796

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.10.156 / 5.15.80 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: tracing: kprobe: Fix potential null-ptr-deref on trace_array in kprobe_event_gen_test_exit() When test_gen_kprobe_cmd() failed after kprobe_event_gen_cmd_end(), it will goto delete, which will call kprobe_event_delete() and release the corresponding resource. However, the trace_array in gen_kretprobe_test will point to the invalid resource. Set gen_kretprobe_test to NULL after called kprobe_event_delete() to prevent null-ptr-deref. BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000070 PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP PTI CPU: 0 PID: 246 Comm: modprobe Tainted: G W 6.1.0-rc1-00174-g9522dc5c87da-dirty #248 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.15.0-0-g2dd4b9b3f840-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:__ftrace_set_clr_event_nolock+0x53/0x1b0 Code: e8 82 26 fc ff 49 8b 1e c7 44 24 0c ea ff ff ff 49 39 de 0f 84 3c 01 00 00 c7 44 24 18 00 00 00 00 e8 61 26 fc ff 48 8b 6b 10 <44> 8b 65 70 4c 8b 6d 18 41 f7 c4 00 02 00 00 75 2f RSP: 0018:ffffc9000159fe00 EFLAGS: 00010293 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff88810971d268 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: ffff8881080be600 RSI: ffffffff811b48ff RDI: ffff88810971d058 RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000001 R10: ffffc9000159fe58 R11: 0000000000000001 R12: ffffffffa0001064 R13: ffffffffa000106c R14: ffff88810971d238 R15: 0000000000000000 FS: 00007f89eeff6540(0000) GS:ffff88813b600000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000000000070 CR3: 000000010599e004 CR4: 0000000000330ef0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: <TASK> __ftrace_set_clr_event+0x3e/0x60 trace_array_set_clr_event+0x35/0x50 ? 0xffffffffa0000000 kprobe_event_gen_test_exit+0xcd/0x10b [kprobe_event_gen_test] __x64_sys_delete_module+0x206/0x380 ? lockdep_hardirqs_on_prepare+0xd8/0x190 ? syscall_enter_from_user_mode+0x1c/0x50 do_syscall_64+0x3f/0x90 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd RIP: 0033:0x7f89eeb061b7

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:>= 5.6, < 5.10.156>= 5.11, < 5.15.80>= 5.16, < 6.0.10= 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 5.10.156 / 5.15.80 / 6.0.10 or later
Fixed in 5.10.1565.15.806.0.10
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel version 5.10.156 or later (for 5.10.x branch), 5.15.80 or later (for 5.15.x branch), 6.0.10 or later (for 6.0.x branch), or 6.2 or later (for 6.1.x branch). The recommended approach is to upgrade to the latest stable kernel available from your distribution.

  1. Identify the currently running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Check if the running kernel version falls within any of the affected ranges: 5.6 to 5.10.155, 5.11 to 5.15.79, 5.16 to 6.0.9, or exactly 6.1
  3. If affected, schedule a maintenance window for kernel upgrade
  4. Backup critical data before proceeding with kernel upgrade
  5. Upgrade to a fixed kernel version: 5.10.156+, 5.15.80+, 6.0.10+, or 6.2+
  6. Reboot the system to load the new kernel
  7. Verify the fix by running `uname -r` to confirm the new version is loaded
  8. Test the kprobe event functionality to ensure tracing still works correctly
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuild of out-of-tree kernel modules. Ensure all proprietary drivers (NVIDIA, etc.) are compatible with the new kernel 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 $2,850. 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-2022-49796 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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