CVE-2022-50809

Local denial of service via leaked DbC allocations

Published Dec 30, 2025 · Updated Dec 30, 2025

A memory leak in Linux kernel xHCI DbC support allows local users to exhaust kernel memory by reinitializing active DbC. xhci_alloc_dbc allocates an xhci_dbc structure, then returns NULL without freeing it when DBC_CTRL_DBC_ENABLE shows DbC already in use. Local low-privileged access and an enabled xHCI debug capability are required; repeated calls can deny availability through kernel-memory exhaustion.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
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

A memory leak in Linux kernel xHCI DbC support allows local users to exhaust kernel memory by reinitializing active DbC. xhci_alloc_dbc allocates an xhci_dbc structure, then returns NULL without freeing it when DBC_CTRL_DBC_ENABLE shows DbC already in use. Local low-privileged access and an enabled xHCI debug capability are required; repeated calls can deny availability through kernel-memory exhaustion.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-50809
Published
Dec 30, 2025
Updated
Dec 30, 2025
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-401
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Dec 30, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Dec 30, 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=5.18
  2. Affected versionversion=534675942e901959b5d8dc11ea526c4e48817d8e <116d6a6964986ea7eb516daa36128d270f1f248d
  3. Affected versionversion=534675942e901959b5d8dc11ea526c4e48817d8e <69e67c804d09a6b1bcda1f4f242f151f813eeb4a
  4. Affected versionversion=534675942e901959b5d8dc11ea526c4e48817d8e <d591b32e519603524a35b172156db71df9116902
  5. Affected versionversion=d7afb4a13f6c6ee7df7d0bfc67b4ef19ece6d802 <103b459590e1eb4d80b02761eb36c7cae1d9b58e

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.18; version=534675942e901959b5d8dc11ea526c4e48817d8e <116d6a6964986ea7eb516daa36128d270f1f248d; version=534675942e901959b5d8dc11ea526c4e48817d8e <69e67c804d09a6b1bcda1f4f242f151f813eeb4a; version=534675942e901959b5d8dc11ea526c4e48817d8e <d591b32e519603524a35b172156db71df9116902; version=d7afb4a13f6c6ee7df7d0bfc67b4ef19ece6d802 <103b459590e1eb4d80b02761eb36c7cae1d9b58e

Published CVSS scores

5.5SUSECVSS: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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 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

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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