Linux Kernel up to 5.15.74/5.19.16/6.0.2 designware i2c_dw_xfer_msg null pointer dereference

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Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 5.15.74/5.19.16/6.0.2. It has been classified as critical. This vulnerability affects the function i2c_dw_xfer_msg of the component designware. This manipulation causes null pointer dereference. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2022-50370. There is no exploit available. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 5.15.74/5.19.16/6.0.2 and classified as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function i2c_dw_xfer_msg of the component designware. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-476. A NULL pointer dereference occurs when the application dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid, but is NULL, typically causing a crash or exit. As an impact it is known to affect availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: i2c: designware: Fix handling of real but unexpected device interrupts Commit c7b79a752871 ("mfd: intel-lpss: Add Intel Alder Lake PCH-S PCI IDs") caused a regression on certain Gigabyte motherboards for Intel Alder Lake-S where system crashes to NULL pointer dereference in i2c_dw_xfer_msg() when system resumes from S3 sleep state ("deep"). I was able to debug the issue on Gigabyte Z690 AORUS ELITE and made following notes: - Issue happens when resuming from S3 but not when resuming from "s2idle" - PCI device 00:15.0 == i2c_designware.0 is already in D0 state when system enters into pci_pm_resume_noirq() while all other i2c_designware PCI devices are in D3. Devices were runtime suspended and in D3 prior entering into suspend - Interrupt comes after pci_pm_resume_noirq() when device interrupts are re-enabled - According to register dump the interrupt really comes from the i2c_designware.0. Controller is enabled, I2C target address register points to a one detectable I2C device address 0x60 and the DW_IC_RAW_INTR_STAT register START_DET, STOP_DET, ACTIVITY and TX_EMPTY bits are set indicating completed I2C transaction. My guess is that the firmware uses this controller to communicate with an on-board I2C device during resume but does not disable the controller before giving control to an operating system. I was told the UEFI update fixes this but never the less it revealed the driver is not ready to handle TX_EMPTY (or RX_FULL) interrupt when device is supposed to be idle and state variables are not set (especially the dev->msgs pointer which may point to NULL or stale old data). Introduce a new software status flag STATUS_ACTIVE indicating when the controller is active in driver point of view. Now treat all interrupts that occur when is not set as unexpected and mask all interrupts from the controller.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2022-50370 since 09/17/2025. The exploitation appears to be difficult. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 265617 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2022-50370), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 5.15.75, 5.19.17 or 6.0.3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 7fa5304c4b5b425d4a0b3acf10139a7f6108a85f/a206f7fbe9589c60fafad12884628c909ecb042f/aa59ac81e859006d3a1df035a19b3f2089110f93/301c8f5c32c8fb79c67539bc23972dc3ef48024c 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 (265617) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2087). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Affected

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

Productinfo

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CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.1
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 5.0

VulDB Base Score: 4.8
VulDB Temp Score: 4.6
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 5.5
NVD Vector: 🔒

CVSSv2info

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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Null pointer dereference
CWE: CWE-476 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Partially

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

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Nessus ID: 265617
Nessus Name: Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2022-50370

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 5.15.75/5.19.17/6.0.3
Patch: 7fa5304c4b5b425d4a0b3acf10139a7f6108a85f/a206f7fbe9589c60fafad12884628c909ecb042f/aa59ac81e859006d3a1df035a19b3f2089110f93/301c8f5c32c8fb79c67539bc23972dc3ef48024c

Timelineinfo

09/17/2025 Advisory disclosed
09/17/2025 +0 days CVE reserved
09/17/2025 +0 days VulDB entry created
12/27/2025 +101 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2022-50370 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2022-50370
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-324679
CERT Bund: WID-SEC-2025-2087 - Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen

Entryinfo

Created: 09/17/2025 17:37
Updated: 12/27/2025 02:41
Changes: 09/17/2025 17:37 (59), 09/21/2025 21:02 (2), 12/11/2025 21:31 (11), 12/27/2025 02:41 (7)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

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