Local kernel crash via GPIO hot-unplug race
Published Oct 1, 2025 · Updated Oct 1, 2025
NULL-pointer dereferences in affected Linux kernel GPIO character-device code allow local users to crash the kernel after hot-unplug. The v1 and v2 ioctl(), read(), and poll() paths continue using an anonymous line-request file descriptor after its GPIO device is unbound and dereference a cleared gdev->chip pointer. A local user must request GPIO lines, retain the descriptor, cause a hot-pluggable device to be removed, and invoke one of those operations; successful exploitation interrupts the host by crashing its kernel.
Summary
What happened
NULL-pointer dereferences in affected Linux kernel GPIO character-device code allow local users to crash the kernel after hot-unplug. The v1 and v2 ioctl(), read(), and poll() paths continue using an anonymous line-request file descriptor after its GPIO device is unbound and dereference a cleared gdev->chip pointer. A local user must request GPIO lines, retain the descriptor, cause a hot-pluggable device to be removed, and invoke one of those operations; successful exploitation interrupts the host by crashing its kernel.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-50453
- Published
- Oct 1, 2025
- Updated
- Oct 1, 2025
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-476, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 1, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 1, 2025Record 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.
- Affected versionversion=4.8
- Affected versionversion=d7c51b47ac11e66f547b55640405c1c474642d72 <533aae7c94dbc2b14301cfd68ae7e0e90f0c8438
- Affected versionversion=d7c51b47ac11e66f547b55640405c1c474642d72 <6d79546622baab843172b52c3af035f83c1b21df
- Affected versionversion=d7c51b47ac11e66f547b55640405c1c474642d72 <7c755a2d6df511eeb5afba966ac28140f9ea5063
- Affected versionversion=d7c51b47ac11e66f547b55640405c1c474642d72 <ac6ce3cd7a3e10a2e37b8970bab81b4d33d5cfc3
- Affected versionversion=d7c51b47ac11e66f547b55640405c1c474642d72 <d66f68ac9e7ba46b6b90fbe25155723f2126088a
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
No CVSS assessment is available in this record.
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.
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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