CVE-2022-50853

Memory exhaustion via leaked NFSv4 credential references

Published Dec 30, 2025 · Updated Dec 30, 2025

Credential-reference leakage in NFSv4 trunking discovery in affected Linux kernel versions allows local users to consume kernel memory. _nfs4_discover_trunking() obtains a reference-counted credential for its location query but omitted put_cred() on every cleanup path, so references accumulate. Reachability requires local low-privileged access and NFSv4 client activity that performs trunking discovery; no network-only trigger is documented.

CVSS severity7.0
High
EPSS probability0.20%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Credential-reference leakage in NFSv4 trunking discovery in affected Linux kernel versions allows local users to consume kernel memory. _nfs4_discover_trunking() obtains a reference-counted credential for its location query but omitted put_cred() on every cleanup path, so references accumulate. Reachability requires local low-privileged access and NFSv4 client activity that performs trunking discovery; no network-only trigger is documented.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-50853
Published
Dec 30, 2025
Updated
Dec 30, 2025
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
Unavailable
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=2f42531f545f2670192b894d14d50e0539e47e24
  2. Affected versionversion=4f40a5b5544618b096d1611a18219dd91fd57f80 <b247a9828f6607d41189fa6c2a3be754d33cae86
  3. Affected versionversion=4f40a5b5544618b096d1611a18219dd91fd57f80 <dfad5d5e7511933c2ae3d12a8131840074c5a73d
  4. Affected versionversion=4f40a5b5544618b096d1611a18219dd91fd57f80 <e83458fce080dc23c25353a1af90bfecf79c7369
  5. Affected versionversion=5.19
  6. Affected versionversion=ead049562758cc415437c0e99b09ce5eb2ab3dc0 <c6aca4c7ba8f6d40a0cfeeb09160dd8efdf97c64

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=2f42531f545f2670192b894d14d50e0539e47e24; version=4f40a5b5544618b096d1611a18219dd91fd57f80 <b247a9828f6607d41189fa6c2a3be754d33cae86; version=4f40a5b5544618b096d1611a18219dd91fd57f80 <dfad5d5e7511933c2ae3d12a8131840074c5a73d; version=4f40a5b5544618b096d1611a18219dd91fd57f80 <e83458fce080dc23c25353a1af90bfecf79c7369; version=5.19; version=ead049562758cc415437c0e99b09ce5eb2ab3dc0 <c6aca4c7ba8f6d40a0cfeeb09160dd8efdf97c64

Published CVSS scores

7.0Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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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