Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2022-50409

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.14.296 / 4.19.262 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: net: If sock is dead don't access sock's sk_wq in sk_stream_wait_memory Fixes the below NULL pointer dereference: [...] [ 14.471200] Call Trace: [ 14.471562] <TASK> [ 14.471882] lock_acquire+0x245/0x2e0 [ 14.472416] ? remove_wait_queue+0x12/0x50 [ 14.473014] ? _raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x17/0x50 [ 14.473681] _raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x3d/0x50 [ 14.474318] ? remove_wait_queue+0x12/0x50 [ 14.474907] remove_wait_queue+0x12/0x50 [ 14.475480] sk_stream_wait_memory+0x20d/0x340 [ 14.476127] ? do_wait_intr_irq+0x80/0x80 [ 14.476704] do_tcp_sendpages+0x287/0x600 [ 14.477283] tcp_bpf_push+0xab/0x260 [ 14.477817] tcp_bpf_sendmsg_redir+0x297/0x500 [ 14.478461] ? __local_bh_enable_ip+0x77/0xe0 [ 14.479096] tcp_bpf_send_verdict+0x105/0x470 [ 14.479729] tcp_bpf_sendmsg+0x318/0x4f0 [ 14.480311] sock_sendmsg+0x2d/0x40 [ 14.480822] ____sys_sendmsg+0x1b4/0x1c0 [ 14.481390] ? copy_msghdr_from_user+0x62/0x80 [ 14.482048] ___sys_sendmsg+0x78/0xb0 [ 14.482580] ? vmf_insert_pfn_prot+0x91/0x150 [ 14.483215] ? __do_fault+0x2a/0x1a0 [ 14.483738] ? do_fault+0x15e/0x5d0 [ 14.484246] ? __handle_mm_fault+0x56b/0x1040 [ 14.484874] ? lock_is_held_type+0xdf/0x130 [ 14.485474] ? find_held_lock+0x2d/0x90 [ 14.486046] ? __sys_sendmsg+0x41/0x70 [ 14.486587] __sys_sendmsg+0x41/0x70 [ 14.487105] ? intel_pmu_drain_pebs_core+0x350/0x350 [ 14.487822] do_syscall_64+0x34/0x80 [ 14.488345] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd [...] The test scenario has the following flow: thread1 thread2 ----------- --------------- tcp_bpf_sendmsg tcp_bpf_send_verdict tcp_bpf_sendmsg_redir sock_close tcp_bpf_push_locked __sock_release tcp_bpf_push //inet_release do_tcp_sendpages sock->ops->release sk_stream_wait_memory // tcp_close sk_wait_event sk->sk_prot->close release_sock(__sk); *** lock_sock(sk); __tcp_close sock_orphan(sk) sk->sk_wq = NULL release_sock **** lock_sock(__sk); remove_wait_queue(sk_sleep(sk), &wait); sk_sleep(sk) //NULL pointer dereference &rcu_dereference_raw(sk->sk_wq)->wait While waiting for memory in thread1, the socket is released with its wait queue because thread2 has closed it. This caused by tcp_bpf_send_verdict didn't increase the f_count of psock->sk_redir->sk_socket->file in thread1. We should check if SOCK_DEAD flag is set on wakeup in sk_stream_wait_memory before accessing the wait queue.

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:< 4.14.296>= 4.15, < 4.19.262>= 4.20, < 5.4.220>= 5.5, < 5.10.150>= 5.11, < 5.15.75>= 5.16, < 5.19.17>= 6.0, < 6.0.3

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 4.14.296 / 4.19.262 / 5.4.220 or later
Fixed in 4.14.2964.19.2625.4.220
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel >= 4.14.296 (for 4.14.x), >= 4.19.262 (for 4.19.x), >= 5.4.220 (for 5.4.x), or >= 5.10.150 (for 5.10.x)

  1. Identify the currently running Linux kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Determine the appropriate upgrade target based on your current kernel branch: for 4.14.x upgrade to >= 4.14.296, for 4.19.x upgrade to >= 4.19.262, for 5.4.x upgrade to >= 5.4.220, for 5.10.x upgrade to >= 5.10.150
  3. Apply the appropriate kernel package upgrade via your distribution's package manager (e.g., `apt-get update && apt-get install linux-image-<version>` for Debian/Ubuntu, or `yum update kernel` for RHEL/CentOS)
  4. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  5. Verify the running kernel version after reboot with `uname -r` to confirm the fix is applied
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could introduce compatibility issues with third-party kernel modules or specific hardware drivers; ensure backup and test in staging first

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

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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-2022-50409 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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