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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2022-49932

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.1.20 / 6.2.7 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: KVM: VMX: Do _all_ initialization before exposing /dev/kvm to userspace Call kvm_init() only after _all_ setup is complete, as kvm_init() exposes /dev/kvm to userspace and thus allows userspace to create VMs (and call other ioctls). E.g. KVM will encounter a NULL pointer when attempting to add a vCPU to the per-CPU loaded_vmcss_on_cpu list if userspace is able to create a VM before vmx_init() configures said list. BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000008 #PF: supervisor write access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0002) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: 0002 [#1] SMP CPU: 6 PID: 1143 Comm: stable Not tainted 6.0.0-rc7+ #988 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 0.0.0 02/06/2015 RIP: 0010:vmx_vcpu_load_vmcs+0x68/0x230 [kvm_intel] <TASK> vmx_vcpu_load+0x16/0x60 [kvm_intel] kvm_arch_vcpu_load+0x32/0x1f0 [kvm] vcpu_load+0x2f/0x40 [kvm] kvm_arch_vcpu_create+0x231/0x310 [kvm] kvm_vm_ioctl+0x79f/0xe10 [kvm] ? handle_mm_fault+0xb1/0x220 __x64_sys_ioctl+0x80/0xb0 do_syscall_64+0x2b/0x50 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x46/0xb0 RIP: 0033:0x7f5a6b05743b </TASK> Modules linked in: vhost_net vhost vhost_iotlb tap kvm_intel(+) kvm irqbypass

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:< 6.1.20>= 6.2, < 6.2.7

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 6.1.20 / 6.2.7 or later
Fixed in 6.1.206.2.7
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Kernel 6.1.20 or later, or kernel 6.2.7 or later

  1. Identify the currently running kernel version using 'uname -r'
  2. If running kernel < 6.1.20, plan upgrade to kernel >= 6.1.20
  3. If running kernel >= 6.2.0 and < 6.2.7, plan upgrade to kernel >= 6.2.7
  4. Consult your Linux distribution's package manager to obtain the fixed kernel package (e.g., apt-get update && apt-get install linux-image-<version> for Debian/Ubuntu, or yum/dnf update kernel for RHEL/CentOS)
  5. Reboot the system to load the updated kernel
  6. Verify the new kernel version with 'uname -r' after reboot
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebooting services; ensure compatibility with existing userspace tools and virtual machine configurations before upgrading production systems

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-2022-49932 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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