CVE-2022-50042
BaseFortify
Publication date: 2025-06-18
Last updated on: 2025-11-13
Assigner: kernel.org
Description
Description
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
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Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| linux | linux_kernel | From 5.15.160 (inc) to 5.16 (inc) |
| linux | linux_kernel | From 5.15.160 (inc) to 5.16 (inc) |
| linux | linux_kernel | From 5.15.160 (inc) to 5.16 (inc) |
| linux | linux_kernel | 6.0 |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-401 | The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, making the memory unavailable for reallocation and reuse. |
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?
This vulnerability is a memory leak in the Linux kernel's generic netlink (genl) subsystem related to policy dumping. Specifically, when constructing an array of policies, if an error occurs while recording a non-first policy, the code fails to properly unwind and free allocated memory, leading to a memory leak. Additionally, the function netlink_policy_dump_add_policy() does not correctly handle errors because it gives up without recording the allocated pointer, which contributes to the leak.
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
This vulnerability can lead to memory leaks in the Linux kernel when handling netlink policy dumping. Over time, this could cause increased memory usage and potentially degrade system performance or stability, especially on systems that frequently use this functionality.