Kernel memory exhaustion via failed NFC sends
Published May 1, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026
Memory leak in the Linux kernel nfcmrvl driver allows local users to consume kernel memory by triggering an NFC-over-I2C send failure. nfcmrvl_i2c_nci_send() leaves the outgoing socket buffer allocated when i2c_master_send() returns an error because its caller frees that buffer only for nonnegative returns. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and the affected Marvell NFC I2C path; repeated failures can exhaust memory and interrupt service.
Summary
What happened
Memory leak in the Linux kernel nfcmrvl driver allows local users to consume kernel memory by triggering an NFC-over-I2C send failure. nfcmrvl_i2c_nci_send() leaves the outgoing socket buffer allocated when i2c_master_send() returns an error because its caller frees that buffer only for nonnegative returns. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and the affected Marvell NFC I2C path; repeated failures can exhaust memory and interrupt service.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-49922
- Published
- May 1, 2025
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-401, 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
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=4.4
- Affected versionversion=b5b3e23e4cace008e1a30e8614a484d14dfd07a1 <52438e734c1566f5e2bcd9a065d2d65e306c0555
- Affected versionversion=b5b3e23e4cace008e1a30e8614a484d14dfd07a1 <5dfdac5e3f8db5f4445228c44f64091045644a3b
- Affected versionversion=b5b3e23e4cace008e1a30e8614a484d14dfd07a1 <825656ae61e73ddc05f585e6258d284c87064b10
- Affected versionversion=b5b3e23e4cace008e1a30e8614a484d14dfd07a1 <92a1df9c6da20c02cf9872f8b025a66ddb307aeb
- Affected versionversion=b5b3e23e4cace008e1a30e8614a484d14dfd07a1 <93d904a734a74c54d945a9884b4962977f1176cd
- Affected versionversion=b5b3e23e4cace008e1a30e8614a484d14dfd07a1 <c8e7d4a1166f063703955f1b2e765a6db5bf1771
- Affected versionversion=b5b3e23e4cace008e1a30e8614a484d14dfd07a1 <dd0ee55ead91fbb16889dbe7ff0b0f7c9e4e849d
- Affected versionversion=b5b3e23e4cace008e1a30e8614a484d14dfd07a1 <f30060efcf18883748a0541aa41acef183cd9c0e
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
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