CVE-2022-50073

Kernel crash via uninitialized TAP device pointer

Published Jun 18, 2025 · Updated Aug 12, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in the Linux tap driver allows local users to crash affected kernels by sending crafted virtual network data. In tap_get_user, the driver calls virtio_net_hdr_to_skb before assigning skb->dev, so dev_parse_header_protocol dereferences a null device pointer. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access to a TAP or vhost-net transmit path and affects availability by producing a kernel crash.

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

NULL pointer dereference in the Linux tap driver allows local users to crash affected kernels by sending crafted virtual network data. In tap_get_user, the driver calls virtio_net_hdr_to_skb before assigning skb->dev, so dev_parse_header_protocol dereferences a null device pointer. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access to a TAP or vhost-net transmit path and affects availability by producing a kernel crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-50073
Published
Jun 18, 2025
Updated
Aug 12, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 18, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 12, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=4.14.226 <4.15
  2. Affected versionversion=4.19.181 <4.20
  3. Affected versionversion=5.10.24 <5.10.258
  4. Affected versionversion=5.11.7 <5.12
  5. Affected versionversion=5.12
  6. Affected versionversion=5.4.106 <5.5
  7. Affected versionversion=54ef8243c3c8e90f1ea5792e6752e021a25c8eb3
  8. Affected versionversion=924a9bc362a5223cd448ca08c3dde21235adc310 <447ba770cfe798925f4923548b367fd49f0ee5f0
  9. Affected versionversion=924a9bc362a5223cd448ca08c3dde21235adc310 <4f61f133f354853bc394ec7d6028adb9b02dd701
  10. Affected versionversion=924a9bc362a5223cd448ca08c3dde21235adc310 <dd29648fcf69339713f2d25f7014ae905dcdfc18
  11. Affected versionversion=99b1d3f74b9ef72c2f74c8e4c078e1bc0706e748
  12. Affected versionversion=ca278267d6cd9544645731732455b6b20cb0e895
  13. Affected versionversion=ea3fb2ce5fa794d02135f5c079e05cd6fc3f545d
  14. Affected versionversion=faa3baa2828c5e1c4374f3e60041f75c64f5fcb6 <8f90163f9e013c8fc791aab338aab44a46044cfc

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=4.14.226 <4.15; version=4.19.181 <4.20; version=5.10.24 <5.10.258; version=5.11.7 <5.12; version=5.12; version=5.4.106 <5.5; version=54ef8243c3c8e90f1ea5792e6752e021a25c8eb3; version=924a9bc362a5223cd448ca08c3dde21235adc310 <447ba770cfe798925f4923548b367fd49f0ee5f0; version=924a9bc362a5223cd448ca08c3dde21235adc310 <4f61f133f354853bc394ec7d6028adb9b02dd701; version=924a9bc362a5223cd448ca08c3dde21235adc310 <dd29648fcf69339713f2d25f7014ae905dcdfc18; version=99b1d3f74b9ef72c2f74c8e4c078e1bc0706e748; version=ca278267d6cd9544645731732455b6b20cb0e895; version=ea3fb2ce5fa794d02135f5c079e05cd6fc3f545d; version=faa3baa2828c5e1c4374f3e60041f75c64f5fcb6 <8f90163f9e013c8fc791aab338aab44a46044cfc

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS: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-476NULL Pointer Dereference
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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