CVE-2022-50095

Local privilege escalation via stale CPU timer

Published Jun 18, 2025 · Updated Aug 5, 2026

Use-after-free in the Linux kernel allows local users to gain kernel privileges when a non-leader thread calls execve. After the thread exchanges PIDs, posix_cpu_timer_del looks up the old PID and leaves an armed timer linked while exit_itimers frees its memory. An unprivileged local process can reach this path through ordinary thread, POSIX CPU-timer, and execve system calls, leading to kernel memory disclosure, corruption, or a system crash.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.24%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Use-after-free in the Linux kernel allows local users to gain kernel privileges when a non-leader thread calls execve. After the thread exchanges PIDs, posix_cpu_timer_del looks up the old PID and leaves an armed timer linked while exit_itimers frees its memory. An unprivileged local process can reach this path through ordinary thread, POSIX CPU-timer, and execve system calls, leading to kernel memory disclosure, corruption, or a system crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-50095
Published
Jun 18, 2025
Updated
Aug 5, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-416, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 18, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 5, 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=55e8c8eb2c7b6bf30e99423ccfe7ca032f498f59 <541840859ace9c2ccebc32fa9e376c7bd3def490
  2. Affected versionversion=55e8c8eb2c7b6bf30e99423ccfe7ca032f498f59 <9e255ed238fc67058df87b0388ad6d4b2ef3a2bd
  3. Affected versionversion=55e8c8eb2c7b6bf30e99423ccfe7ca032f498f59 <b2fc1723eb65abb83e00d5f011de670296af0b28
  4. Affected versionversion=55e8c8eb2c7b6bf30e99423ccfe7ca032f498f59 <e362359ace6f87c201531872486ff295df306d13
  5. Affected versionversion=55e8c8eb2c7b6bf30e99423ccfe7ca032f498f59 <e8cb6e8fd9890780f1bfcf5592889e1b879e779c
  6. Affected versionversion=5.7

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=55e8c8eb2c7b6bf30e99423ccfe7ca032f498f59 <541840859ace9c2ccebc32fa9e376c7bd3def490; version=55e8c8eb2c7b6bf30e99423ccfe7ca032f498f59 <9e255ed238fc67058df87b0388ad6d4b2ef3a2bd; version=55e8c8eb2c7b6bf30e99423ccfe7ca032f498f59 <b2fc1723eb65abb83e00d5f011de670296af0b28; version=55e8c8eb2c7b6bf30e99423ccfe7ca032f498f59 <e362359ace6f87c201531872486ff295df306d13; version=55e8c8eb2c7b6bf30e99423ccfe7ca032f498f59 <e8cb6e8fd9890780f1bfcf5592889e1b879e779c; version=5.7

Published CVSS scores

7.3UbuntuCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
7.8Linux kernel CVE teamCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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-416Use After Free
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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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