CVE-2022-50162

Service interruption via Libertas USB reference leak

Published Jun 18, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026

Resource leak in the Libertas USB Wi-Fi driver in affected Linux kernel versions allows local users to exhaust kernel resources. In if_usb_probe(), usb_get_dev() increments the USB device reference before asynchronous firmware loading, but the failure path omits the matching usb_put_dev() release. Reachability requires the driver to probe a Libertas USB adapter and encounter a firmware-loading failure; repeated failures retain device references and interrupt service through resource exhaustion.

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

Resource leak in the Libertas USB Wi-Fi driver in affected Linux kernel versions allows local users to exhaust kernel resources. In if_usb_probe(), usb_get_dev() increments the USB device reference before asynchronous firmware loading, but the failure path omits the matching usb_put_dev() release. Reachability requires the driver to probe a Libertas USB adapter and encounter a firmware-loading failure; repeated failures retain device references and interrupt service through resource exhaustion.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-50162
Published
Jun 18, 2025
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
Unavailable
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=3.5
  2. Affected versionversion=ce84bb69f50e6f6cfeabc9b965365290f4184417 <00d0c4e59c0f8ad1f86874bb64b220394e687028
  3. Affected versionversion=ce84bb69f50e6f6cfeabc9b965365290f4184417 <4c8e2f9ce1428e44cb103035eeced7aeb6b80980
  4. Affected versionversion=ce84bb69f50e6f6cfeabc9b965365290f4184417 <5b92f406a5199b6b01dc664b9226d824ae2835f0
  5. Affected versionversion=ce84bb69f50e6f6cfeabc9b965365290f4184417 <61b2ec97487399c58ae2e34f250f4884e671799b
  6. Affected versionversion=ce84bb69f50e6f6cfeabc9b965365290f4184417 <6fd57e1d120bf13d4dc6c200a7cf914e6347a316
  7. Affected versionversion=ce84bb69f50e6f6cfeabc9b965365290f4184417 <878e7f39803a9ab5bb9766956a7a04351d4bf99d
  8. Affected versionversion=ce84bb69f50e6f6cfeabc9b965365290f4184417 <97e5d3e46a3a2100253a9717a4df98d68aeb10b8
  9. Affected versionversion=ce84bb69f50e6f6cfeabc9b965365290f4184417 <d7365590d15bbd9008f424ef043d1778ffe29f42

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=3.5; version=ce84bb69f50e6f6cfeabc9b965365290f4184417 <00d0c4e59c0f8ad1f86874bb64b220394e687028; version=ce84bb69f50e6f6cfeabc9b965365290f4184417 <4c8e2f9ce1428e44cb103035eeced7aeb6b80980; version=ce84bb69f50e6f6cfeabc9b965365290f4184417 <5b92f406a5199b6b01dc664b9226d824ae2835f0; version=ce84bb69f50e6f6cfeabc9b965365290f4184417 <61b2ec97487399c58ae2e34f250f4884e671799b; version=ce84bb69f50e6f6cfeabc9b965365290f4184417 <6fd57e1d120bf13d4dc6c200a7cf914e6347a316; version=ce84bb69f50e6f6cfeabc9b965365290f4184417 <878e7f39803a9ab5bb9766956a7a04351d4bf99d; version=ce84bb69f50e6f6cfeabc9b965365290f4184417 <97e5d3e46a3a2100253a9717a4df98d68aeb10b8; version=ce84bb69f50e6f6cfeabc9b965365290f4184417 <d7365590d15bbd9008f424ef043d1778ffe29f42

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.

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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

No sourced classifications are available.

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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