CVE-2022-49264

Local privilege escalation via empty exec argument vector

Published Feb 26, 2025 · Updated Aug 5, 2026

Improper argument validation in Linux kernel exec allows local users to launch privileged programs with an empty argument vector. do_execveat_common() accepts a NULL or immediately terminated argv list and preserves argc as zero instead of supplying the conventional argv[0] string. Any local user can reach the system call; privilege escalation requires a setuid or otherwise privileged helper whose argument handling assumes argc is at least one.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.30%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper argument validation in Linux kernel exec allows local users to launch privileged programs with an empty argument vector. do_execveat_common() accepts a NULL or immediately terminated argv list and preserves argc as zero instead of supplying the conventional argv[0] string. Any local user can reach the system call; privilege escalation requires a setuid or otherwise privileged helper whose argument handling assumes argc is at least one.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-49264
Published
Feb 26, 2025
Updated
Aug 5, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 26, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 5, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <1290eb4412aa0f0e9f3434b406dc8e255da85f9e
  2. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <1fe82bfd9e4ce93399d815ca458b58505191c3e8
  3. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <27a6f495b63a1804cc71be45911065db7757a98c
  4. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <41f6ea5b9aaa28b740d47ffe995a5013211fdbb0
  5. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <98e0c7c702894987732776736c99b85ade6fba45
  6. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <a8054d3fa5deb84b215d6be1b910a978f3cb840d
  7. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <b50fb8dbc8b81aaa126387de428f4c42a7c72a73
  8. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <cfbfff8ce5e3d674947581f1eb9af0a1b1807950
  9. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <dcd46d897adb70d63e025f175a00a89797d31a43
  10. Affected versionversion=2.6.12

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <1290eb4412aa0f0e9f3434b406dc8e255da85f9e; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <1fe82bfd9e4ce93399d815ca458b58505191c3e8; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <27a6f495b63a1804cc71be45911065db7757a98c; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <41f6ea5b9aaa28b740d47ffe995a5013211fdbb0; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <98e0c7c702894987732776736c99b85ade6fba45; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <a8054d3fa5deb84b215d6be1b910a978f3cb840d; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <b50fb8dbc8b81aaa126387de428f4c42a7c72a73; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <cfbfff8ce5e3d674947581f1eb9af0a1b1807950; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <dcd46d897adb70d63e025f175a00a89797d31a43; version=2.6.12

Published CVSS scores

5.5Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.5UbuntuCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
7.8LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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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