CVE-2022-50481: cxl: fix possible null-ptr-deref in cxl_guest_init_afu|adapter()

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2025-10-04 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-476

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cxl: fix possible null-ptr-deref in cxl_guest_init_afu|adapter() If device_register() fails in cxl_register_afu|adapter(), the device is not added, device_unregister() can not be called in the error path, otherwise it will cause a null-ptr-deref because of removing not added device. As comment of device_register() says, it should use put_device() to give up the reference in the error path. So split device_unregister() into device_del() and put_device(), then goes to put dev when register fails.

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 4.6 before 4.9.337; from 4.10 before 4.14.303; from 4.15 before 4.19.270; from 4.20 before 5.4.229; from 5.5 before 5.10.163; from 5.11 before 5.15.86 — fixed in 4.14.303, 4.19.270, 4.9.337, 5.10.163, 5.15.86, 5.4.229

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 4.14.303, 4.19.270, 4.9.337, 5.10.163. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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