CVE-2022-48953

Boot crash via premature RTC handler registration

Published Oct 21, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel RTC CMOS driver allows local users to crash the system during boot through an RTC fixed event. cmos_wake_setup registers and enables rtc_handler before cmos_do_probe stores the CMOS object pointer that rtc_handler retrieves with dev_get_drvdata. The failure requires the RTC fixed event to be active during driver initialization; the documented consequence is a boot-time NULL dereference and service interruption.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.24%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel RTC CMOS driver allows local users to crash the system during boot through an RTC fixed event. cmos_wake_setup registers and enables rtc_handler before cmos_do_probe stores the CMOS object pointer that rtc_handler retrieves with dev_get_drvdata. The failure requires the RTC fixed event to be active during driver initialization; the documented consequence is a boot-time NULL dereference and service interruption.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-48953
Published
Oct 21, 2024
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-476
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 21, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=2.6.28
  2. Affected versionversion=a474aaedac99ba86e28ef6c912a7647c482db6dd <0bcfccb48696aba475f046c2021f0733659ce0ef
  3. Affected versionversion=a474aaedac99ba86e28ef6c912a7647c482db6dd <1ba745fce13d19775100eece30b0bfb8b8b10ea6
  4. Affected versionversion=a474aaedac99ba86e28ef6c912a7647c482db6dd <4919d3eb2ec0ee364f7e3cf2d99646c1b224fae8
  5. Affected versionversion=a474aaedac99ba86e28ef6c912a7647c482db6dd <60c6e563a843032cf6ff84b2fb732cd8754fc10d

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=2.6.28; version=a474aaedac99ba86e28ef6c912a7647c482db6dd <0bcfccb48696aba475f046c2021f0733659ce0ef; version=a474aaedac99ba86e28ef6c912a7647c482db6dd <1ba745fce13d19775100eece30b0bfb8b8b10ea6; version=a474aaedac99ba86e28ef6c912a7647c482db6dd <4919d3eb2ec0ee364f7e3cf2d99646c1b224fae8; version=a474aaedac99ba86e28ef6c912a7647c482db6dd <60c6e563a843032cf6ff84b2fb732cd8754fc10d

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

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.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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