Linux Kernel up to 5.10.172/5.15.98/6.1.15/6.2.2 vkms_release null pointer dereference

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Summaryinfo

A vulnerability described as critical has been identified in Linux Kernel up to 5.10.172/5.15.98/6.1.15/6.2.2. Impacted is the function vkms_release. The manipulation results in null pointer dereference. This vulnerability is cataloged as CVE-2022-50369. There is no exploit available. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in Linux Kernel up to 5.10.172/5.15.98/6.1.15/6.2.2. Affected is the function vkms_release. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as 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. This is going to have an impact on availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/vkms: Fix null-ptr-deref in vkms_release() A null-ptr-deref is triggered when it tries to destroy the workqueue in vkms->output.composer_workq in vkms_release(). KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000118-0x000000000000011f] CPU: 5 PID: 17193 Comm: modprobe Not tainted 6.0.0-11331-gd465bff130bf #24 RIP: 0010:destroy_workqueue+0x2f/0x710 ... Call Trace: <TASK> ? vkms_config_debugfs_init+0x50/0x50 [vkms] __devm_drm_dev_alloc+0x15a/0x1c0 [drm] vkms_init+0x245/0x1000 [vkms] do_one_initcall+0xd0/0x4f0 do_init_module+0x1a4/0x680 load_module+0x6249/0x7110 __do_sys_finit_module+0x140/0x200 do_syscall_64+0x35/0x80 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x46/0xb0 The reason is that an OOM happened which triggers the destroy of the workqueue, however, the workqueue is alloced in the later process, thus a null-ptr-deref happened. A simple call graph is shown as below: vkms_init() vkms_create() devm_drm_dev_alloc() __devm_drm_dev_alloc() devm_drm_dev_init() devm_add_action_or_reset() devm_add_action() # an error happened devm_drm_dev_init_release() drm_dev_put() kref_put() drm_dev_release() vkms_release() destroy_workqueue() # null-ptr-deref happened vkms_modeset_init() vkms_output_init() vkms_crtc_init() # where the workqueue get allocated Fix this by checking if composer_workq is NULL before passing it to the destroy_workqueue() in vkms_release().

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2022-50369 since 09/17/2025. The exploitability is told to be difficult. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 265663 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2022-50369), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 5.10.173, 5.15.99, 6.1.16 or 6.2.3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 0b8f390e2251191f1b179cc87f65d54c96565f0d/1f9836f95271e7acf016667eee0aeae3386f9645/596f1ba3987e601e31a5abf1f75ce1d2635aceac/57031c474c3a920ea73afeb5dc352e537f5793ee/2fe2a8f40c21161ffe7653cc234e7934db5b7cc5 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 (265663) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2087). If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

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

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.10.172
• 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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CPE 2.2info

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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

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
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💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
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Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
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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: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Nessus ID: 265663
Nessus Name: Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2022-50369

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 5.10.173/5.15.99/6.1.16/6.2.3
Patch: 0b8f390e2251191f1b179cc87f65d54c96565f0d/1f9836f95271e7acf016667eee0aeae3386f9645/596f1ba3987e601e31a5abf1f75ce1d2635aceac/57031c474c3a920ea73afeb5dc352e537f5793ee/2fe2a8f40c21161ffe7653cc234e7934db5b7cc5

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-2022-50369 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2022-50369
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-324714
CERT Bund: WID-SEC-2025-2087 - Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen

Entryinfo

Created: 09/17/2025 17:45
Updated: 12/27/2025 02:41
Changes: 09/17/2025 17:45 (58), 09/21/2025 05:16 (2), 12/12/2025 17:57 (12), 12/27/2025 02:41 (7)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

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