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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2022-50163

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-06-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.15 / 4.20 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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: ax25: fix incorrect dev_tracker usage While investigating a separate rose issue [1], and enabling CONFIG_NET_DEV_REFCNT_TRACKER=y, Bernard reported an orthogonal ax25 issue [2] An ax25_dev can be used by one (or many) struct ax25_cb. We thus need different dev_tracker, one per struct ax25_cb. After this patch is applied, we are able to focus on rose. [1] https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/[email protected]/ [2] [ 205.798723] reference already released. [ 205.798732] allocated in: [ 205.798734] ax25_bind+0x1a2/0x230 [ax25] [ 205.798747] __sys_bind+0xea/0x110 [ 205.798753] __x64_sys_bind+0x18/0x20 [ 205.798758] do_syscall_64+0x5c/0x80 [ 205.798763] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae [ 205.798768] freed in: [ 205.798770] ax25_release+0x115/0x370 [ax25] [ 205.798778] __sock_release+0x42/0xb0 [ 205.798782] sock_close+0x15/0x20 [ 205.798785] __fput+0x9f/0x260 [ 205.798789] ____fput+0xe/0x10 [ 205.798792] task_work_run+0x64/0xa0 [ 205.798798] exit_to_user_mode_prepare+0x18b/0x190 [ 205.798804] syscall_exit_to_user_mode+0x26/0x40 [ 205.798808] do_syscall_64+0x69/0x80 [ 205.798812] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae [ 205.798827] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [ 205.798829] WARNING: CPU: 2 PID: 2605 at lib/ref_tracker.c:136 ref_tracker_free.cold+0x60/0x81 [ 205.798837] Modules linked in: rose netrom mkiss ax25 rfcomm cmac algif_hash algif_skcipher af_alg bnep snd_hda_codec_hdmi nls_iso8859_1 i915 rtw88_8821ce rtw88_8821c x86_pkg_temp_thermal rtw88_pci intel_powerclamp rtw88_core snd_hda_codec_realtek snd_hda_codec_generic ledtrig_audio coretemp snd_hda_intel kvm_intel snd_intel_dspcfg mac80211 snd_hda_codec kvm i2c_algo_bit drm_buddy drm_dp_helper btusb drm_kms_helper snd_hwdep btrtl snd_hda_core btbcm joydev crct10dif_pclmul btintel crc32_pclmul ghash_clmulni_intel mei_hdcp btmtk intel_rapl_msr aesni_intel bluetooth input_leds snd_pcm crypto_simd syscopyarea processor_thermal_device_pci_legacy sysfillrect cryptd intel_soc_dts_iosf snd_seq sysimgblt ecdh_generic fb_sys_fops rapl libarc4 processor_thermal_device intel_cstate processor_thermal_rfim cec snd_timer ecc snd_seq_device cfg80211 processor_thermal_mbox mei_me processor_thermal_rapl mei rc_core at24 snd intel_pch_thermal intel_rapl_common ttm soundcore int340x_thermal_zone video [ 205.798948] mac_hid acpi_pad sch_fq_codel ipmi_devintf ipmi_msghandler drm msr parport_pc ppdev lp parport ramoops pstore_blk reed_solomon pstore_zone efi_pstore ip_tables x_tables autofs4 hid_generic usbhid hid i2c_i801 i2c_smbus r8169 xhci_pci ahci libahci realtek lpc_ich xhci_pci_renesas [last unloaded: ax25] [ 205.798992] CPU: 2 PID: 2605 Comm: ax25ipd Not tainted 5.18.11-F6BVP #3 [ 205.798996] Hardware name: To be filled by O.E.M. To be filled by O.E.M./CK3, BIOS 5.011 09/16/2020 [ 205.798999] RIP: 0010:ref_tracker_free.cold+0x60/0x81 [ 205.799005] Code: e8 d2 01 9b ff 83 7b 18 00 74 14 48 c7 c7 2f d7 ff 98 e8 10 6e fc ff 8b 7b 18 e8 b8 01 9b ff 4c 89 ee 4c 89 e7 e8 5d fd 07 00 <0f> 0b b8 ea ff ff ff e9 30 05 9b ff 41 0f b6 f7 48 c7 c7 a0 fa 4e [ 205.799008] RSP: 0018:ffffaf5281073958 EFLAGS: 00010286 [ 205.799011] RAX: 0000000080000000 RBX: ffff9a0bd687ebe0 RCX: 0000000000000000 [ 205.799014] RDX: 0000000000000001 RSI: 0000000000000282 RDI: 00000000ffffffff [ 205.799016] RBP: ffffaf5281073a10 R08: 0000000000000003 R09: fffffffffffd5618 [ 205.799019] R10: 0000000000ffff10 R11: 000000000000000f R12: ffff9a0bc53384d0 [ 205.799022] R13: 0000000000000282 R14: 00000000ae000001 R15: 0000000000000001 [ 205.799024] FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff9a0d0f300000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [ 205.799028] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [ 205.799031] CR2: 00007ff6b8311554 CR3: 000000001ac10004 CR4: 00000000001706e0 [ 205.799033] Call Trace: [ 205.799035] <TASK> [ 205.799038] ? ax25_dev_device_down+0xd9/ ---truncated---

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

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

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:>= 4.14.277, < 4.15>= 4.19.240, < 4.20>= 5.4.190, < 5.5>= 5.10.112, < 5.11>= 5.15.35, < 5.16>= 5.17.1, < 5.18.18>= 5.19, < 5.19.2= 5.17

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 4.15 / 4.20 / 5.5 or later
Fixed in 4.154.205.5
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel 4.15, 4.20, 5.5, 5.11 or later (any stable kernel version that includes the fix commit 4294df1374450912b2f64ee3cf575069fc784679)

  1. Identify your current Linux kernel version with 'uname -r'
  2. Check your distribution's available kernel packages (e.g., apt update && apt list --upgradable for Debian/Ubuntu, yum list kernel for RHEL/CentOS, dnf list kernel for Fedora)
  3. Upgrade the kernel to a version >= 4.15 (for 4.14.x), >= 4.20 (for 4.19.x), >= 5.5 (for 5.4.x), or >= 5.11 (for 5.10.x)
  4. For Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt-get install linux-image-<version>
  5. For RHEL/CentOS: sudo yum install kernel-<version>
  6. For Fedora: sudo dnf install kernel-<version>
  7. Update bootloader configuration if needed (grub2-mkconfig)
  8. Reboot the system to load the new kernel
Caveat Kernel upgrades may introduce breaking changes to drivers or kernel APIs; test in non-production environment first; ensure bootloader is properly configured

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 $1,950. 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-2022-50163 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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