Kernel use-after-free via unreleased I2C resources
Published Feb 26, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026
Use-after-free in the cx23885 PCI media driver in affected Linux kernels allows local users to access freed memory during device initialization. When DMA-mask setup fails, cx23885_initdev follows an error path that leaves I2C resources initialized by cx23885_dev_setup, and later driver removal reads the stale object. Reachability requires local low-privileged access, a supported cx23885 PCI device, and a platform where DMA-mask setup fails; the documented result is an invalid eight-byte kernel-memory read.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in the cx23885 PCI media driver in affected Linux kernels allows local users to access freed memory during device initialization. When DMA-mask setup fails, cx23885_initdev follows an error path that leaves I2C resources initialized by cx23885_dev_setup, and later driver removal reads the stale object. Reachability requires local low-privileged access, a supported cx23885 PCI device, and a platform where DMA-mask setup fails; the documented result is an invalid eight-byte kernel-memory read.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-49524
- Published
- Feb 26, 2025
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-416, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Feb 26, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- 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.
- Affected versionversion=2bc46b3ad3c15165f91459b07ff8682478683194 <453514a874c78df1e7804e6e3aaa60c8d8deb6a8
- Affected versionversion=2bc46b3ad3c15165f91459b07ff8682478683194 <6041d1a0365baa729b6adfb6ed5386d9388018db
- Affected versionversion=2bc46b3ad3c15165f91459b07ff8682478683194 <7b9978e1c94e569d65a0e7e719abb9340f5db4a0
- Affected versionversion=2bc46b3ad3c15165f91459b07ff8682478683194 <86bd6a579c6c60547706cabf299cd2c9feab3332
- Affected versionversion=2bc46b3ad3c15165f91459b07ff8682478683194 <98106f100f50c487469903b9cf6d966785fc9cc3
- Affected versionversion=2bc46b3ad3c15165f91459b07ff8682478683194 <ca17e7a532d1a55466cc007b3f4d319541a27493
- Affected versionversion=2bc46b3ad3c15165f91459b07ff8682478683194 <e8123311cf06d7dae71e8c5fe78e0510d20cd30b
- Affected versionversion=2bc46b3ad3c15165f91459b07ff8682478683194 <fa636e9ee4442215cd9a2e079cd5a8e1fe0cb8ba
- Affected versionversion=4.8
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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