CVE-2022-50269: drm/vkms: Fix memory leak in vkms_init()

Published Sep 15, 2025
·
Updated

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

drm/vkms: Fix memory leak in vkmsinit()

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>] kmalloctrace+0x27/0x60 [<000000000b1954a0>] 0xffffffffc45200a9 [<00000000abbf1da0>] dooneinitcall+0xd0/0x4f0 [<000000001505ee87>] doinitmodule+0x1a4/0x680 [<00000000958079ad>] loadmodule+0x6249/0x7110 [<00000000117e4696>] dosysfinitmodule+0x140/0x200 [<00000000f74b12d2>] dosyscall64+0x35/0x80 [<000000008fc6fcde>] entrySYSCALL64afterhwframe+0x46/0xb0

The reason is that the vkmsinit() returns without checking the return value of vkmscreate(), and if the vkmscreate() failed, the config allocated at the beginning of vkmsinit() is leaked.

vkmsinit() config = kmalloc(...) # config allocated ... return vkmscreate() # vkmscreate failed and config is leaked

Fix this problem by checking return value of vkmscreate() and free the config if error happened.

Affected Software

4 affected components
Linux Kernel
Linux Linux kernel>=5.12<5.15.99
Linux Linux kernel>=5.16<6.1.16
Linux Linux kernel>=6.2<6.2.3

Event History

Sep 15, 2025
CVE Published
via MITRE·02:21 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·02:21 PM
Description
Data Sourced
via NVD·03:15 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2022-50269?

CVE-2022-50269 has been assessed to have a medium severity due to the memory leak in the Linux kernel's vkms module.

2

How do I fix CVE-2022-50269?

To fix CVE-2022-50269, users should upgrade to a patched version of the Linux kernel that addresses the memory leak.

3

Which versions of Linux are affected by CVE-2022-50269?

CVE-2022-50269 affects Linux kernel versions between 5.12 and 5.15.99, 5.16 and 6.1.16, and 6.2 and 6.2.3.

4

Is CVE-2022-50269 specific to any Linux distributions?

CVE-2022-50269 is a vulnerability in the Linux kernel, thus potentially affecting all Linux distributions using the specified kernel versions.

5

How was CVE-2022-50269 discovered?

CVE-2022-50269 was reported due to a memory leak that occurred when the vkms module installation failed.

Contact

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