Linux Kernel up to 5.19.1 LoongArch /proc/cpuinfo cpu_max_bits_warn stack-based overflow

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 5.19.1. Affected by this issue is the function cpu_max_bits_warn of the file /proc/cpuinfo of the component LoongArch. The manipulation leads to stack-based overflow. This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2022-50223. There is no available exploit. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 5.19.1. This issue affects the function cpu_max_bits_warn of the file /proc/cpuinfo of the component LoongArch. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a stack-based overflow vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-121. A stack-based buffer overflow condition is a condition where the buffer being overwritten is allocated on the stack (i.e., is a local variable or, rarely, a parameter to a function). Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: LoongArch: cpuinfo: Fix a warning for CONFIG_CPUMASK_OFFSTACK When CONFIG_CPUMASK_OFFSTACK and CONFIG_DEBUG_PER_CPU_MAPS is selected, cpu_max_bits_warn() generates a runtime warning similar as below while we show /proc/cpuinfo. Fix this by using nr_cpu_ids (the runtime limit) instead of NR_CPUS to iterate CPUs. [ 3.052463] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [ 3.059679] WARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 1 at include/linux/cpumask.h:108 show_cpuinfo+0x5e8/0x5f0 [ 3.070072] Modules linked in: efivarfs autofs4 [ 3.076257] CPU: 0 PID: 1 Comm: systemd Not tainted 5.19-rc5+ #1052 [ 3.084034] Hardware name: Loongson Loongson-3A5000-7A1000-1w-V0.1-CRB/Loongson-LS3A5000-7A1000-1w-EVB-V1.21, BIOS Loongson-UDK2018-V2.0.04082-beta7 04/27 [ 3.099465] Stack : 9000000100157b08 9000000000f18530 9000000000cf846c 9000000100154000 [ 3.109127] 9000000100157a50 0000000000000000 9000000100157a58 9000000000ef7430 [ 3.118774] 90000001001578e8 0000000000000040 0000000000000020 ffffffffffffffff [ 3.128412] 0000000000aaaaaa 1ab25f00eec96a37 900000010021de80 900000000101c890 [ 3.138056] 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 0000000000aaaaaa [ 3.147711] ffff8000339dc220 0000000000000001 0000000006ab4000 0000000000000000 [ 3.157364] 900000000101c998 0000000000000004 9000000000ef7430 0000000000000000 [ 3.167012] 0000000000000009 000000000000006c 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 [ 3.176641] 9000000000d3de08 9000000001639390 90000000002086d8 00007ffff0080286 [ 3.186260] 00000000000000b0 0000000000000004 0000000000000000 0000000000071c1c [ 3.195868] ... [ 3.199917] Call Trace: [ 3.203941] [<90000000002086d8>] show_stack+0x38/0x14c [ 3.210666] [<9000000000cf846c>] dump_stack_lvl+0x60/0x88 [ 3.217625] [<900000000023d268>] __warn+0xd0/0x100 [ 3.223958] [<9000000000cf3c90>] warn_slowpath_fmt+0x7c/0xcc [ 3.231150] [<9000000000210220>] show_cpuinfo+0x5e8/0x5f0 [ 3.238080] [<90000000004f578c>] seq_read_iter+0x354/0x4b4 [ 3.245098] [<90000000004c2e90>] new_sync_read+0x17c/0x1c4 [ 3.252114] [<90000000004c5174>] vfs_read+0x138/0x1d0 [ 3.258694] [<90000000004c55f8>] ksys_read+0x70/0x100 [ 3.265265] [<9000000000cfde9c>] do_syscall+0x7c/0x94 [ 3.271820] [<9000000000202fe4>] handle_syscall+0xc4/0x160 [ 3.281824] ---[ end trace 8b484262b4b8c24c ]---

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2022-50223 since 06/18/2025. The exploitation is known to be easy. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 01/14/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 246641 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2022-50223), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 5.19.2 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 37268c7badd36f5381056d1651a6ee0b63b8ff3c/28e112afa44ad0814120d41c68fa72372a2cd2c2 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 (246641) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-1350). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Affected

• 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 Avamar
• Dell NetWorker
• Dell Secure Connect Gateway
• IBM QRadar SIEM

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.19.0
• 5.19.1

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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