Local kernel crash via unchecked allocation failure
Published Dec 14, 2022 · Updated Apr 22, 2025
NULL pointer dereference in Linux Kernel through 5.16-rc6 allows local users to crash the kernel during MediaTek video codec initialization. The mtk_vcodec_fw_vpu_init function assigns devm_kzalloc output to fw and dereferences fw immediately without checking whether allocation returned NULL. Reaching the fault requires local low-privileged access, the MediaTek VPU codec path, and an allocation failure; the result is a kernel crash without reported data disclosure or modification.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in Linux Kernel through 5.16-rc6 allows local users to crash the kernel during MediaTek video codec initialization. The mtk_vcodec_fw_vpu_init function assigns devm_kzalloc output to fw and dereferences fw immediately without checking whether allocation returned NULL. Reaching the fault requires local low-privileged access, the MediaTek VPU codec path, and an allocation failure; the result is a kernel crash without reported data disclosure or modification.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-3113
- Published
- Dec 14, 2022
- Updated
- Apr 22, 2025
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-476, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Dec 14, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 22, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=Linux 5.16-rc6
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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