CVE-2022-49090

Local kernel crash via misordered topology initialization

Published Feb 26, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel 5.14 allows local users to crash Arm64 systems by exercising core scheduling. store_cpu_topology() updates sibling masks only after notify_cpu_starting() builds scheduler state, leaving rq->core unset on non-leader runqueues. Reachability requires an Arm64 system with SMT and core scheduling enabled; exercising the inconsistent state causes a warning followed by a kernel crash.

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 Linux kernel 5.14 allows local users to crash Arm64 systems by exercising core scheduling. store_cpu_topology() updates sibling masks only after notify_cpu_starting() builds scheduler state, leaving rq->core unset on non-leader runqueues. Reachability requires an Arm64 system with SMT and core scheduling enabled; exercising the inconsistent state causes a warning followed by a kernel crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-49090
Published
Feb 26, 2025
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 26, 2025CVE 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=5.14
  2. Affected versionversion=9edeaea1bc452372718837ed2ba775811baf1ba1 <5524cbb1bfcdff0cad0aaa9f94e6092002a07259
  3. Affected versionversion=9edeaea1bc452372718837ed2ba775811baf1ba1 <790c1567582bda8f1153015436e3330a7c6eb278
  4. Affected versionversion=9edeaea1bc452372718837ed2ba775811baf1ba1 <87f5d66daa5f457449bb95d6b8d18bb7596aa627
  5. Affected versionversion=9edeaea1bc452372718837ed2ba775811baf1ba1 <c78a1b2d0bff678570c8dc9f14035606f5e5257d

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.14; version=9edeaea1bc452372718837ed2ba775811baf1ba1 <5524cbb1bfcdff0cad0aaa9f94e6092002a07259; version=9edeaea1bc452372718837ed2ba775811baf1ba1 <790c1567582bda8f1153015436e3330a7c6eb278; version=9edeaea1bc452372718837ed2ba775811baf1ba1 <87f5d66daa5f457449bb95d6b8d18bb7596aa627; version=9edeaea1bc452372718837ed2ba775811baf1ba1 <c78a1b2d0bff678570c8dc9f14035606f5e5257d

Published CVSS scores

5.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.5CanonicalCVSS: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
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

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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