CVE-2022-49837

Service interruption via BPF verifier memory leak

Published May 1, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026

Memory leak in the BPF verifier in Linux allows local users to exhaust kernel memory by repeatedly loading crafted BPF programs. Abnormal exits in prepare_func_exit and __check_func_call adjust curframe without releasing the callee state through free_func_state. A low-privileged local account permitted to load BPF programs can cause availability loss by accumulating unreleased 2,048-byte allocations.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.19%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Memory leak in the BPF verifier in Linux allows local users to exhaust kernel memory by repeatedly loading crafted BPF programs. Abnormal exits in prepare_func_exit and __check_func_call adjust curframe without releasing the callee state through free_func_state. A low-privileged local account permitted to load BPF programs can cause availability loss by accumulating unreleased 2,048-byte allocations.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-49837
Published
May 1, 2025
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-401
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 1, 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=4.20
  2. Affected versionversion=fd978bf7fd312581a7ca454a991f0ffb34c4204b <83946d772e756734a900ef99dbe0aeda506adf37
  3. Affected versionversion=fd978bf7fd312581a7ca454a991f0ffb34c4204b <d4944497827a3d14bc5a26dbcfb7433eb5a956c0
  4. Affected versionversion=fd978bf7fd312581a7ca454a991f0ffb34c4204b <eb86559a691cea5fa63e57a03ec3dc9c31e97955

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=4.20; version=fd978bf7fd312581a7ca454a991f0ffb34c4204b <83946d772e756734a900ef99dbe0aeda506adf37; version=fd978bf7fd312581a7ca454a991f0ffb34c4204b <d4944497827a3d14bc5a26dbcfb7433eb5a956c0; version=fd978bf7fd312581a7ca454a991f0ffb34c4204b <eb86559a691cea5fa63e57a03ec3dc9c31e97955

Published CVSS scores

5.5NVDCVSS: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 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

CWE-401Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime

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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