CVE-2022-50074

Service interruption via AppArmor policy-write memory leak

Published Jun 18, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026

Memory leak in the Linux kernel AppArmor subsystem allows local users to consume kernel memory through failed policy writes. aa_simple_write_to_buffer frees only the aa_loaddata management structure with kvfree when copy_from_user fails, orphaning its separately allocated data blob. Repeated triggering can exhaust kernel memory and interrupt service; exploitation requires local access to an AppArmor policy-write path.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.18%
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 Linux kernel AppArmor subsystem allows local users to consume kernel memory through failed policy writes. aa_simple_write_to_buffer frees only the aa_loaddata management structure with kvfree when copy_from_user fails, orphaning its separately allocated data blob. Repeated triggering can exhaust kernel memory and interrupt service; exploitation requires local access to an AppArmor policy-write path.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-50074
Published
Jun 18, 2025
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-401, T1499.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 18, 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

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=4.17
  2. Affected versionversion=a6a52579e52b55448326db88bd9a5740e7c1a037 <417ea9fe972d2654a268ad66e89c8fcae67017c3
  3. Affected versionversion=a6a52579e52b55448326db88bd9a5740e7c1a037 <6500eb3a48ac221051b1791818a1ac74744ef617
  4. Affected versionversion=a6a52579e52b55448326db88bd9a5740e7c1a037 <6583edbf459de2e06b9759f264c0ae27e452b97a
  5. Affected versionversion=a6a52579e52b55448326db88bd9a5740e7c1a037 <7db182a2ebeefded86fea542fcc5d6a68bb77f58
  6. Affected versionversion=a6a52579e52b55448326db88bd9a5740e7c1a037 <8aab4295582eb397a125d2788b829fa62b88dbf7
  7. Affected versionversion=a6a52579e52b55448326db88bd9a5740e7c1a037 <bf7ebebce2c25071c719fd8a2f1307e0c243c2d7

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=4.17; version=a6a52579e52b55448326db88bd9a5740e7c1a037 <417ea9fe972d2654a268ad66e89c8fcae67017c3; version=a6a52579e52b55448326db88bd9a5740e7c1a037 <6500eb3a48ac221051b1791818a1ac74744ef617; version=a6a52579e52b55448326db88bd9a5740e7c1a037 <6583edbf459de2e06b9759f264c0ae27e452b97a; version=a6a52579e52b55448326db88bd9a5740e7c1a037 <7db182a2ebeefded86fea542fcc5d6a68bb77f58; version=a6a52579e52b55448326db88bd9a5740e7c1a037 <8aab4295582eb397a125d2788b829fa62b88dbf7; version=a6a52579e52b55448326db88bd9a5740e7c1a037 <bf7ebebce2c25071c719fd8a2f1307e0c243c2d7

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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 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
T1499.001OS Exhaustion Flood

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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