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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2022-49981

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-06-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.9.327 / 4.14.292 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: HID: hidraw: fix memory leak in hidraw_release() Free the buffered reports before deleting the list entry. BUG: memory leak unreferenced object 0xffff88810e72f180 (size 32): comm "softirq", pid 0, jiffies 4294945143 (age 16.080s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 64 f3 c6 6a d1 88 07 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 d..j............ 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ backtrace: [<ffffffff814ac6c3>] kmemdup+0x23/0x50 mm/util.c:128 [<ffffffff8357c1d2>] kmemdup include/linux/fortify-string.h:440 [inline] [<ffffffff8357c1d2>] hidraw_report_event+0xa2/0x150 drivers/hid/hidraw.c:521 [<ffffffff8356ddad>] hid_report_raw_event+0x27d/0x740 drivers/hid/hid-core.c:1992 [<ffffffff8356e41e>] hid_input_report+0x1ae/0x270 drivers/hid/hid-core.c:2065 [<ffffffff835f0d3f>] hid_irq_in+0x1ff/0x250 drivers/hid/usbhid/hid-core.c:284 [<ffffffff82d3c7f9>] __usb_hcd_giveback_urb+0xf9/0x230 drivers/usb/core/hcd.c:1670 [<ffffffff82d3cc26>] usb_hcd_giveback_urb+0x1b6/0x1d0 drivers/usb/core/hcd.c:1747 [<ffffffff82ef1e14>] dummy_timer+0x8e4/0x14c0 drivers/usb/gadget/udc/dummy_hcd.c:1988 [<ffffffff812f50a8>] call_timer_fn+0x38/0x200 kernel/time/timer.c:1474 [<ffffffff812f5586>] expire_timers kernel/time/timer.c:1519 [inline] [<ffffffff812f5586>] __run_timers.part.0+0x316/0x430 kernel/time/timer.c:1790 [<ffffffff812f56e4>] __run_timers kernel/time/timer.c:1768 [inline] [<ffffffff812f56e4>] run_timer_softirq+0x44/0x90 kernel/time/timer.c:1803 [<ffffffff848000e6>] __do_softirq+0xe6/0x2ea kernel/softirq.c:571 [<ffffffff81246db0>] invoke_softirq kernel/softirq.c:445 [inline] [<ffffffff81246db0>] __irq_exit_rcu kernel/softirq.c:650 [inline] [<ffffffff81246db0>] irq_exit_rcu+0xc0/0x110 kernel/softirq.c:662 [<ffffffff84574f02>] sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt+0xa2/0xd0 arch/x86/kernel/apic/apic.c:1106 [<ffffffff84600c8b>] asm_sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt+0x1b/0x20 arch/x86/include/asm/idtentry.h:649 [<ffffffff8458a070>] native_safe_halt arch/x86/include/asm/irqflags.h:51 [inline] [<ffffffff8458a070>] arch_safe_halt arch/x86/include/asm/irqflags.h:89 [inline] [<ffffffff8458a070>] acpi_safe_halt drivers/acpi/processor_idle.c:111 [inline] [<ffffffff8458a070>] acpi_idle_do_entry+0xc0/0xd0 drivers/acpi/processor_idle.c:554

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-401

Allocated memory is never released on some path, so a long-running service or a repeatedly triggered request steadily consumes memory until performance degrades or the process crashes. Attackers exploit it by simply driving the leaking path. Remediation is pairing every allocation with a release and using ownership patterns or tooling to catch what leaks.

General guidance for the memory leak 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:>= 2.6.24, < 4.9.327>= 4.10, < 4.14.292>= 4.15, < 4.19.257>= 4.20, < 5.4.212>= 5.5, < 5.10.141>= 5.11, < 5.15.65>= 5.16, < 5.19.7= 6.0

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 4.9.327 / 4.14.292 / 4.19.257 or later
Fixed in 4.9.3274.14.2924.19.257
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

5.4.212 (or 4.19.257 / 4.14.292 / 4.9.327 depending on your branch)

  1. Check current kernel version: `uname -r`
  2. Identify if the running kernel version is within any of the affected ranges: < 4.9.327, < 4.14.292, < 4.19.257, or < 5.4.212
  3. Upgrade the Linux kernel to a fixed version: 4.9.327+, 4.14.292+, 4.19.257+, or 5.4.212+
  4. Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
  5. Verify the fix is applied after reboot by checking kernel version
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuilding out-of-tree kernel modules; ensure compatibility with existing system configuration

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

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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-2022-49981 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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