CVE-2022-49851

Kernel panic via stale reserved-memory device-tree pointer

Published May 1, 2025 · Updated May 23, 2026

Improper pointer use in the Linux kernel allows attackers to cause a kernel panic when an affected RISC-V system boots. On RISC-V, parse_dtb() leaves initial_boot_params pointing at the early device-tree mapping, and of_reserved_mem_lookup() later dereferences that stale address while printing a reserved-memory name. Reachability requires a boot-time device tree with a reserved-memory region; the resulting paging fault interrupts system startup.

CVSS severity7.1
High
EPSS probability0.20%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper pointer use in the Linux kernel allows attackers to cause a kernel panic when an affected RISC-V system boots. On RISC-V, parse_dtb() leaves initial_boot_params pointing at the early device-tree mapping, and of_reserved_mem_lookup() later dereferences that stale address while printing a reserved-memory name. Reachability requires a boot-time device tree with a reserved-memory region; the resulting paging fault interrupts system startup.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-49851
Published
May 1, 2025
Updated
May 23, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
Unavailable

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 1, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 23, 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=5.3.8 <5.4
  2. Affected versionversion=5.4
  3. Affected versionversion=922b0375fc93fb1a20c5617e37c389c26bbccb70 <50e63dd8ed92045eb70a72d7ec725488320fb68b
  4. Affected versionversion=922b0375fc93fb1a20c5617e37c389c26bbccb70 <518e49f0590de66555503aabe199ba8d3f2e24ac
  5. Affected versionversion=922b0375fc93fb1a20c5617e37c389c26bbccb70 <93598deb101540c4f9e7de15099ea8255b965fc2
  6. Affected versionversion=922b0375fc93fb1a20c5617e37c389c26bbccb70 <94ab8f88feb75e3b1486102c0c9c550f37d9d137
  7. Affected versionversion=f18ed5bee7bb8a0e99e1c7e7d45e0e51d3497248

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesUnavailable in this record.

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.3.8 <5.4; version=5.4; version=922b0375fc93fb1a20c5617e37c389c26bbccb70 <50e63dd8ed92045eb70a72d7ec725488320fb68b; version=922b0375fc93fb1a20c5617e37c389c26bbccb70 <518e49f0590de66555503aabe199ba8d3f2e24ac; version=922b0375fc93fb1a20c5617e37c389c26bbccb70 <93598deb101540c4f9e7de15099ea8255b965fc2; version=922b0375fc93fb1a20c5617e37c389c26bbccb70 <94ab8f88feb75e3b1486102c0c9c550f37d9d137; version=f18ed5bee7bb8a0e99e1c7e7d45e0e51d3497248

Published CVSS scores

4.4SUSECVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
7.1UbuntuCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

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
PrivilegesUnavailable
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

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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