CVE-2022-50545 — linux / linux_kernel
Missing Release of Memory after Effective LifetimeIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
r6040: Fix kmemleak in probe and remove
There is a memory leaks reported by kmemleak:
unreferenced object 0xffff888116111000 (size 2048): comm "modprobe", pid 817, jiffies 4294759745 (age 76.502s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 c4 0a 04 81 88 ff ff 08 10 11 16 81 88 ff ff ................ 08 10 11 16 81 88 ff ff 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ backtrace: [<ffffffff815bcd82>] kmalloc_trace+0x22/0x60 [<ffffffff827e20ee>] phy_device_create+0x4e/0x90 [<ffffffff827e6072>] get_phy_device+0xd2/0x220 [<ffffffff827e7844>] mdiobus_scan+0xa4/0x2e0 [<ffffffff827e8be2>] __mdiobus_register+0x482/0x8b0 [<ffffffffa01f5d24>] r6040_init_one+0x714/0xd2c [r6040] ...
The problem occurs in probe process as follows: r6040_init_one: mdiobus_register mdiobus_scan <- alloc and register phy_device, the reference count of phy_device is 3 r6040_mii_probe phy_connect <- connect to the first phy_device, so the reference count of the first phy_device is 4, others are 3 register_netdev <- fault inject succeeded, goto error handling path
// error handling path
err_out_mdio_unregister:
mdiobus_unregister(lp->mii_bus);
err_out_mdio:
mdiobus_free(lp->mii_bus); <- the reference count of the first
phy_device is 1, it is not released
and other phy_devices are released
// similarly, the remove process also has the same problem
The root cause is traced to the phy_device is not disconnected when removes one r6040 device in r6040_remove_one() or on error handling path after r6040_mii probed successfully. In r6040_mii_probe(), a net ethernet device is connected to the first PHY device of mii_bus, in order to notify the connected driver when the link status changes, which is the default behavior of the PHY infrastructure to handle everything. Therefore the phy_device should be disconnected when removes one r6040 device or on error handling path.
Fix it by adding phy_disconnect() when removes one r6040 device or on error handling path after r6040_mii probed successfully.
| Software | From | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| linux / linux_kernel | 2.6.36 | 4.9.337 |
| linux / linux_kernel | 4.10 | 4.14.303 |
| linux / linux_kernel | 4.15 | 4.19.270 |
| linux / linux_kernel | 4.20 | 5.4.229 |
| linux / linux_kernel | 5.5 | 5.10.163 |
| linux / linux_kernel | 5.11 | 5.15.86 |
| linux / linux_kernel | 5.16 | 6.0.16 |
| linux / linux_kernel | 6.1 | 6.1.2 |
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2ce242e1b9ad31c1f68496b3548e407a8cb2c07d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3d5f83a62e8235d235534b3dc6f197d8a822c269
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5944c25c67de54e0aa53623e1e1af3bf8b16ed44
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7e43039a49c2da45edc1d9d7c9ede4003ab45a5f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9b5b50329e2e966831a7237dd6949e7b5362a49a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a04707f4596952049da05756c27398c34d9a1d36
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ad2c8f25457ca9a81e7e958148cbc26600ce3071
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b0a61359026b57a287a48fbb4ba1d097023eca3e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b4448816e6a565e08236a6009c6bf48c6836cdfd
Deep Security Visibility Without the Complexity
SynScan provides clear, real-time security insights so you can monitor your attack surface, spot risks early, and act fast—without extra complexity.
- No setup fees
- 5-min deployment
- Cancel anytime
Frequently Asked Questions
A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.
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.
A vulnerability is the underlying weakness. An exploit is the method or code used to take advantage of it. A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or has no publicly available fix when attackers begin using it. In practice, risk increases sharply when exploitation becomes reliable or widespread.
Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.
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.
SynScan combines attack surface monitoring and continuous security auditing to keep your inventory current, flag high-impact vulnerabilities early, and help you turn raw findings into a practical remediation plan.