Linux Kernel up to 5.18.3 mdio_bus_init initialization

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as critical has been reported in Linux Kernel up to 5.18.3. Impacted is the function mdio_bus_init. Performing a manipulation results in initialization. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2022-49350. No exploit is available. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in Linux Kernel up to 5.18.3. This affects the function mdio_bus_init. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a initialization vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-665. The product does not initialize or incorrectly initializes a resource, which might leave the resource in an unexpected state when it is accessed or used. This is going to have an impact on availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: mdio: unexport __init-annotated mdio_bus_init() EXPORT_SYMBOL and __init is a bad combination because the .init.text section is freed up after the initialization. Hence, modules cannot use symbols annotated __init. The access to a freed symbol may end up with kernel panic. modpost used to detect it, but it has been broken for a decade. Recently, I fixed modpost so it started to warn it again, then this showed up in linux-next builds. There are two ways to fix it: - Remove __init - Remove EXPORT_SYMBOL I chose the latter for this case because the only in-tree call-site, drivers/net/phy/phy_device.c is never compiled as modular. (CONFIG_PHYLIB is boolean)

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2022-49350 since 02/26/2025. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 241018 (EulerOS 2.0 SP13 : kernel (EulerOS-SA-2025-1704)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 4.14.283, 4.19.247, 5.4.198, 5.10.122, 5.15.47, 5.17.15 or 5.18.4 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch ab64ec2c75683f30ccde9eaaf0761002f901aa12/5534bcd7c40299862237c4a8fd9c5031b3db1538/6a90a44d53428a3bf01bd80df9ba78b19959270c/7759c3222815b945a94b212bc0c6cdec475cfec2/59fa94cddf9eef8d8dae587373eed8b8f4eb11d7/f5c68137f1191ba3fcf6260ec71b30be2e2bf4c3/f2f0f8c18b60ca64ff50892ed899cf1c77864755/35b42dce619701f1300fb8498dae82c9bb1f0263 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (241018) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2107). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Google Container-Optimized OS
• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• SUSE openSUSE
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Dell Secure Connect Gateway
• IBM QRadar SIEM
• Dell NetWorker

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 4.14.282
• 4.19.246
• 5.4.197
• 5.10.121
• 5.15.0
• 5.15.1
• 5.15.2
• 5.15.3
• 5.15.4
• 5.15.5
• 5.15.6
• 5.15.7
• 5.15.8
• 5.15.9
• 5.15.10
• 5.15.11
• 5.15.12
• 5.15.13
• 5.15.14
• 5.15.15
• 5.15.16
• 5.15.17
• 5.15.18
• 5.15.19
• 5.15.20
• 5.15.21
• 5.15.22
• 5.15.23
• 5.15.24
• 5.15.25
• 5.15.26
• 5.15.27
• 5.15.28
• 5.15.29
• 5.15.30
• 5.15.31
• 5.15.32
• 5.15.33
• 5.15.34
• 5.15.35
• 5.15.36
• 5.15.37
• 5.15.38
• 5.15.39
• 5.15.40
• 5.15.41
• 5.15.42
• 5.15.43
• 5.15.44
• 5.15.45
• 5.15.46
• 5.17.0
• 5.17.1
• 5.17.2
• 5.17.3
• 5.17.4
• 5.17.5
• 5.17.6
• 5.17.7
• 5.17.8
• 5.17.9
• 5.17.10
• 5.17.11
• 5.17.12
• 5.17.13
• 5.17.14
• 5.18.0
• 5.18.1
• 5.18.2
• 5.18.3

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Exploitinginfo

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Entryinfo

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