Local system crash via unchecked workqueue allocation
Published May 1, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel Sparx5 driver allows local users to crash the system when driver initialization exhausts memory. sparx_stats_init() and sparx5_start() fail to check whether create_singlethread_workqueue() returned NULL before queuing work, so __queue_work() dereferences a null workqueue pointer. The flaw is reachable only when Sparx5 support initializes and workqueue allocation fails; the published assessment limits impact to system availability.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel Sparx5 driver allows local users to crash the system when driver initialization exhausts memory. sparx_stats_init() and sparx5_start() fail to check whether create_singlethread_workqueue() returned NULL before queuing work, so __queue_work() dereferences a null workqueue pointer. The flaw is reachable only when Sparx5 support initializes and workqueue allocation fails; the published assessment limits impact to system availability.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-49806
- Published
- May 1, 2025
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-476, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 1, 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
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.
- Affected versionversion=5.14
- Affected versionversion=b37a1bae742f92cc9b1f777d54e04ee3d86bbfc2 <456327e565dc49d18b2f595f39f47df8a36f1057
- Affected versionversion=b37a1bae742f92cc9b1f777d54e04ee3d86bbfc2 <639f5d006e36bb303f525d9479448c412b720c39
- Affected versionversion=b37a1bae742f92cc9b1f777d54e04ee3d86bbfc2 <80e590aeb132887102c3fa79d99b338f099dc952
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
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
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo