CVE-2022-49955

Kernel crash via lost RTAS hypervisor state

Published Jun 18, 2025 · Updated May 23, 2026

Improper RTAS state handling in affected Linux kernels allows local users to crash IBM Cell systems during firmware calls. The powerpc RTAS entry path fails to preserve the MSR hypervisor bit read by mfmsr when constructing the firmware-call state, leading execution to a user-page address. Reachability is limited to IBM Cell hardware using SLOF-provided RTAS; the demonstrated result is a kernel oops and service interruption.

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

Improper RTAS state handling in affected Linux kernels allows local users to crash IBM Cell systems during firmware calls. The powerpc RTAS entry path fails to preserve the MSR hypervisor bit read by mfmsr when constructing the firmware-call state, leading execution to a user-page address. Reachability is limited to IBM Cell hardware using SLOF-provided RTAS; the demonstrated result is a kernel oops and service interruption.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-49955
Published
Jun 18, 2025
Updated
May 23, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 18, 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=5.15.46 <5.16
  2. Affected versionversion=5.17.14 <5.18
  3. Affected versionversion=5.18.3 <5.19
  4. Affected versionversion=5.19
  5. Affected versionversion=5ca40fcf0da0ce2b5bc44e7d8b036535955f2e3d
  6. Affected versionversion=5f4367448f6817c8a0e94dc9736ed84fa8eee4a3
  7. Affected versionversion=b6b1c3ce06ca438eb24e0f45bf0e63ecad0369f5 <8b08d4f97233d8e58fff2fd9d5f86397a49733c5
  8. Affected versionversion=b6b1c3ce06ca438eb24e0f45bf0e63ecad0369f5 <91926d8b7e71aaf5f84f0cf208fc5a8b7a761050
  9. Affected versionversion=c9c41f0273826a13ac93124e66a4ff45df281ba0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.15.46 <5.16; version=5.17.14 <5.18; version=5.18.3 <5.19; version=5.19; version=5ca40fcf0da0ce2b5bc44e7d8b036535955f2e3d; version=5f4367448f6817c8a0e94dc9736ed84fa8eee4a3; version=b6b1c3ce06ca438eb24e0f45bf0e63ecad0369f5 <8b08d4f97233d8e58fff2fd9d5f86397a49733c5; version=b6b1c3ce06ca438eb24e0f45bf0e63ecad0369f5 <91926d8b7e71aaf5f84f0cf208fc5a8b7a761050; version=c9c41f0273826a13ac93124e66a4ff45df281ba0

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.

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
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

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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