Vulnerability Database

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Total vulnerabilities in the database

CVE-2022-50453 — linux / linux_kernel

NULL Pointer Dereference

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

gpiolib: cdev: fix NULL-pointer dereferences

There are several places where we can crash the kernel by requesting lines, unbinding the GPIO device, then calling any of the system calls relevant to the GPIO character device's annonymous file descriptors: ioctl(), read(), poll().

While I observed it with the GPIO simulator, it will also happen for any of the GPIO devices that can be hot-unplugged - for instance any HID GPIO expander (e.g. CP2112).

This affects both v1 and v2 uAPI.

This fixes it partially by checking if gdev->chip is not NULL but it doesn't entirely remedy the situation as we still have a race condition in which another thread can remove the device after the check.

  • Published: Oct 1, 2025
  • Updated: Jan 17, 2026
  • CVE: CVE-2022-50453
  • Severity: Medium
  • Exploit:
  • CISA KEV:

CVSS v3:

  • Severity: Medium
  • Score: 5.5
  • AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CWEs:

Frequently Asked Questions

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CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.

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Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.

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