Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2022-50206

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-06-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.14.291 / 4.19.256 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: arm64: fix oops in concurrently setting insn_emulation sysctls emulation_proc_handler() changes table->data for proc_dointvec_minmax and can generate the following Oops if called concurrently with itself: | Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000010 | Internal error: Oops: 96000006 [#1] SMP | Call trace: | update_insn_emulation_mode+0xc0/0x148 | emulation_proc_handler+0x64/0xb8 | proc_sys_call_handler+0x9c/0xf8 | proc_sys_write+0x18/0x20 | __vfs_write+0x20/0x48 | vfs_write+0xe4/0x1d0 | ksys_write+0x70/0xf8 | __arm64_sys_write+0x20/0x28 | el0_svc_common.constprop.0+0x7c/0x1c0 | el0_svc_handler+0x2c/0xa0 | el0_svc+0x8/0x200 To fix this issue, keep the table->data as &insn->current_mode and use container_of() to retrieve the insn pointer. Another mutex is used to protect against the current_mode update but not for retrieving insn_emulation as table->data is no longer changing.

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:< 4.14.291>= 4.15, < 4.19.256>= 4.20, < 5.4.211>= 5.5, < 5.10.137>= 5.11, < 5.15.61>= 5.16, < 5.18.18>= 5.19, < 5.19.2

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 4.14.291 / 4.19.256 / 5.4.211 or later
Fixed in 4.14.2914.19.2565.4.211
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Kernel version >= 4.14.291, 4.19.256, 5.4.211, or 5.10.137 depending on your current branch

  1. Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 4.14.291 or later if running a 4.14.x kernel
  2. Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 4.19.256 or later if running a 4.15.x through 4.19.x kernel
  3. Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 5.4.211 or later if running a 4.20.x through 5.4.x kernel
  4. Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 5.10.137 or later if running a 5.5.x through 5.10.x kernel
  5. After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require matching kernel modules and may have compatibility implications with userspace; ensure dependent modules are rebuilt

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

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2022-50206 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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