CVE-2022-50331

Kernel memory exhaustion via unreleased device name

Published Sep 15, 2025 · Updated Sep 15, 2025

A memory leak in the wwan_hwsim module in Linux allows local users to consume kernel memory by forcing module probing to fail. In wwan_hwsim_dev_new(), a device_register() failure leaves the kobject reference above zero, so the name allocated by dev_set_name() is never released. Local access and a controllable probe failure are required; repeated triggers can exhaust memory and interrupt service.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.15%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

A memory leak in the wwan_hwsim module in Linux allows local users to consume kernel memory by forcing module probing to fail. In wwan_hwsim_dev_new(), a device_register() failure leaves the kobject reference above zero, so the name allocated by dev_set_name() is never released. Local access and a controllable probe failure are required; repeated triggers can exhaust memory and interrupt service.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-50331
Published
Sep 15, 2025
Updated
Sep 15, 2025
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-401, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 15, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 15, 2025Record 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=5.14
  2. Affected versionversion=f36a111a74e71edbba27d4c0cf3d7bbccc172108 <258ad2fe5ede773625adfda88b173f4123e59f45
  3. Affected versionversion=f36a111a74e71edbba27d4c0cf3d7bbccc172108 <50c31fa952309536c6e4461ff815ddccc8dff9d5
  4. Affected versionversion=f36a111a74e71edbba27d4c0cf3d7bbccc172108 <d87973314aba6de80a49f4271dd9be4ddc08e729

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.14; version=f36a111a74e71edbba27d4c0cf3d7bbccc172108 <258ad2fe5ede773625adfda88b173f4123e59f45; version=f36a111a74e71edbba27d4c0cf3d7bbccc172108 <50c31fa952309536c6e4461ff815ddccc8dff9d5; version=f36a111a74e71edbba27d4c0cf3d7bbccc172108 <d87973314aba6de80a49f4271dd9be4ddc08e729

Published CVSS scores

5.5National Vulnerability DatabaseCVSS: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-401Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
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

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo