CVE-2022-50133
BaseFortify
Publication date: 2025-06-18
Last updated on: 2025-11-18
Assigner: kernel.org
Description
Description
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
| Probability: | |
| Percentile: |
Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| linux | linux_kernel | From 5.15.160 (inc) to 5.16 (inc) |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-476 | The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL. |
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?
This vulnerability is a NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's USB xHCI platform driver. Specifically, after a certain commit, the shared_hcd pointer can be NULL, which leads to a kernel crash (Oops) during system reboot when the driver attempts to remove USB host controllers without checking if shared_hcd is NULL.
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
This vulnerability can cause the Linux kernel to crash during reboot due to a NULL pointer dereference in the USB xHCI platform driver. This can lead to system instability, unexpected reboots, or failure to properly shut down or restart the system.
How can this vulnerability be detected on my network or system? Can you suggest some commands?
This vulnerability can be detected by checking the system logs for kernel NULL pointer dereference errors related to xhci_plat_remove or xhci-hcd during USB device removal or system reboot. You can use commands like 'dmesg | grep -i xhci' or 'journalctl -k | grep -i xhci' to look for relevant kernel error messages indicating the issue.
What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?
Immediate mitigation involves updating the Linux kernel to a version that includes the fix for this vulnerability (commit 4736ebd7fcaff1eb8481c140ba494962847d6e0a). Until then, avoid rebooting the system frequently or removing USB devices that trigger the xhci_plat_remove function to prevent kernel NULL pointer dereference crashes.