Linux Kernel up to 5.15.98/6.1.15/6.2.2 Vkms vkms_init return value

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 5.15.98/6.1.15/6.2.2. Affected is the function vkms_init of the component Vkms Module. The manipulation leads to return value. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2022-50269. There is no exploit available. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 5.15.98/6.1.15/6.2.2 and classified as critical. This issue affects the function vkms_init of the component Vkms Module. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a return value vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-252. The product does not check the return value from a method or function, which can prevent it from detecting unexpected states and conditions. The impact remains unknown. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/vkms: Fix memory leak in vkms_init() A memory leak was reported after the vkms module install failed. unreferenced object 0xffff88810bc28520 (size 16): comm "modprobe", pid 9662, jiffies 4298009455 (age 42.590s) hex dump (first 16 bytes): 01 01 00 64 81 88 ff ff 00 00 dc 0a 81 88 ff ff ...d............ backtrace: [<00000000e7561ff8>] kmalloc_trace+0x27/0x60 [<000000000b1954a0>] 0xffffffffc45200a9 [<00000000abbf1da0>] do_one_initcall+0xd0/0x4f0 [<000000001505ee87>] do_init_module+0x1a4/0x680 [<00000000958079ad>] load_module+0x6249/0x7110 [<00000000117e4696>] __do_sys_finit_module+0x140/0x200 [<00000000f74b12d2>] do_syscall_64+0x35/0x80 [<000000008fc6fcde>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x46/0xb0 The reason is that the vkms_init() returns without checking the return value of vkms_create(), and if the vkms_create() failed, the config allocated at the beginning of vkms_init() is leaked. vkms_init() config = kmalloc(...) # config allocated ... return vkms_create() # vkms_create failed and config is leaked Fix this problem by checking return value of vkms_create() and free the config if error happened.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2022-50269 since 09/15/2025. The exploitation is known to be difficult. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 01/10/2026).

Upgrading to version 5.15.99, 6.1.16 or 6.2.3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch bad13de764888b765ceaa4668893b52bd16653cc/bebd60ec3bf21062f103e32e6203c6daabdbd51b/07ab77154d6fd2d67e465ab5ce30083709950f02/0d0b368b9d104b437e1f4850ae94bdb9a3601e89 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 vulnerability database at CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2053). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• IBM QRadar SIEM
• SUSE openSUSE
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Dell Secure Connect Gateway
• F5 F5OS

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 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
• 5.15.47
• 5.15.48
• 5.15.49
• 5.15.50
• 5.15.51
• 5.15.52
• 5.15.53
• 5.15.54
• 5.15.55
• 5.15.56
• 5.15.57
• 5.15.58
• 5.15.59
• 5.15.60
• 5.15.61
• 5.15.62
• 5.15.63
• 5.15.64
• 5.15.65
• 5.15.66
• 5.15.67
• 5.15.68
• 5.15.69
• 5.15.70
• 5.15.71
• 5.15.72
• 5.15.73
• 5.15.74
• 5.15.75
• 5.15.76
• 5.15.77
• 5.15.78
• 5.15.79
• 5.15.80
• 5.15.81
• 5.15.82
• 5.15.83
• 5.15.84
• 5.15.85
• 5.15.86
• 5.15.87
• 5.15.88
• 5.15.89
• 5.15.90
• 5.15.91
• 5.15.92
• 5.15.93
• 5.15.94
• 5.15.95
• 5.15.96
• 5.15.97
• 5.15.98
• 6.1.0
• 6.1.1
• 6.1.2
• 6.1.3
• 6.1.4
• 6.1.5
• 6.1.6
• 6.1.7
• 6.1.8
• 6.1.9
• 6.1.10
• 6.1.11
• 6.1.12
• 6.1.13
• 6.1.14
• 6.1.15
• 6.2.0
• 6.2.1
• 6.2.2

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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