CVE-2022-50480

Local service interruption via device-node refcount leak

Published Oct 4, 2025 · Updated Oct 4, 2025

Reference-count leakage in the PL353 SMC driver in affected Linux kernel versions allows local users to interrupt system availability. In pl353_smc_probe(), the loop exits after finding a supported device-tree child but omits of_node_put() for the retained child reference. The path requires local access and a PL353 static memory controller configuration; repeated probes retain references until kernel resources are exhausted.

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

What happened

Reference-count leakage in the PL353 SMC driver in affected Linux kernel versions allows local users to interrupt system availability. In pl353_smc_probe(), the loop exits after finding a supported device-tree child but omits of_node_put() for the retained child reference. The path requires local access and a PL353 static memory controller configuration; repeated probes retain references until kernel resources are exhausted.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-50480
Published
Oct 4, 2025
Updated
Oct 4, 2025
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
Unavailable
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 4, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 4, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=5.0
  2. Affected versionversion=fee10bd2267868f2a3e7ba008ef7665aac5e4412 <44db35ceb94756ba513dcf6b69bf9e949b28469c
  3. Affected versionversion=fee10bd2267868f2a3e7ba008ef7665aac5e4412 <49605dc25e7fb33bf8b671279d4468531da90f89
  4. Affected versionversion=fee10bd2267868f2a3e7ba008ef7665aac5e4412 <566b143aa5112a0c2784e20603778518bb799537
  5. Affected versionversion=fee10bd2267868f2a3e7ba008ef7665aac5e4412 <61b3c876c1cbdb1efd1f52a1f348580e6e14efb6
  6. Affected versionversion=fee10bd2267868f2a3e7ba008ef7665aac5e4412 <b37f4a711e5d4bf3608ccbc6de82b52e92b441a0
  7. Affected versionversion=fee10bd2267868f2a3e7ba008ef7665aac5e4412 <fde46754d5483bc398018bbec3c8ef5c55219e67

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.0; version=fee10bd2267868f2a3e7ba008ef7665aac5e4412 <44db35ceb94756ba513dcf6b69bf9e949b28469c; version=fee10bd2267868f2a3e7ba008ef7665aac5e4412 <49605dc25e7fb33bf8b671279d4468531da90f89; version=fee10bd2267868f2a3e7ba008ef7665aac5e4412 <566b143aa5112a0c2784e20603778518bb799537; version=fee10bd2267868f2a3e7ba008ef7665aac5e4412 <61b3c876c1cbdb1efd1f52a1f348580e6e14efb6; version=fee10bd2267868f2a3e7ba008ef7665aac5e4412 <b37f4a711e5d4bf3608ccbc6de82b52e92b441a0; version=fee10bd2267868f2a3e7ba008ef7665aac5e4412 <fde46754d5483bc398018bbec3c8ef5c55219e67

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.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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