Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2022-50063
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: net: dsa: felix: suppress non-changes to the tagging protocol The way in which dsa_tree_change_tag_proto() works is that when dsa_tree_notify() fails, it doesn't know whether the operation failed mid way in a multi-switch tree, or it failed for a single-switch tree. So even though drivers need to fail cleanly in ds->ops->change_tag_protocol(), DSA will still call dsa_tree_notify() again, to restore the old tag protocol for potential switches in the tree where the change did succeeed (before failing for others). This means for the felix driver that if we report an error in felix_change_tag_protocol(), we'll get another call where proto_ops == old_proto_ops. If we proceed to act upon that, we may do unexpected things. For example, we will call dsa_tag_8021q_register() twice in a row, without any dsa_tag_8021q_unregister() in between. Then we will actually call dsa_tag_8021q_unregister() via old_proto_ops->teardown, which (if it manages to run at all, after walking through corrupted data structures) will leave the ports inoperational anyway. The bug can be readily reproduced if we force an error while in tag_8021q mode; this crashes the kernel. echo ocelot-8021q > /sys/class/net/eno2/dsa/tagging echo edsa > /sys/class/net/eno2/dsa/tagging # -EPROTONOSUPPORT Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000014 Call trace: vcap_entry_get+0x24/0x124 ocelot_vcap_filter_del+0x198/0x270 felix_tag_8021q_vlan_del+0xd4/0x21c dsa_switch_tag_8021q_vlan_del+0x168/0x2cc dsa_switch_event+0x68/0x1170 dsa_tree_notify+0x14/0x34 dsa_port_tag_8021q_vlan_del+0x84/0x110 dsa_tag_8021q_unregister+0x15c/0x1c0 felix_tag_8021q_teardown+0x16c/0x180 felix_change_tag_protocol+0x1bc/0x230 dsa_switch_event+0x14c/0x1170 dsa_tree_change_tag_proto+0x118/0x1c0
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
>= 5.19, < 5.19.4CVSS 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 · scoped5.19.4
Linux Kernel 5.19.4
- Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 5.19.4 or later. This is the minimal fixed release that includes the patch addressing the NULL pointer dereference in the felix DSA driver.
- After upgrading, verify the running kernel version with: uname -r
- If running a distribution kernel, ensure your distribution has backported this fix. Check your distribution's security advisories for CVE-2022-50063.
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-2022-50063 — 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-2022-50063 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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