CVE-2022-50545
- Published: 2025-10-07T16:15:38.943
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
r6040: Fix kmemleak in probe and remove
There is a memory leaks reported by kmemleak:
unreferenced object 0xffff888116111000 (size 2048):
comm “modprobe”, pid 817, jiffies 4294759745 (age 76.502s)
hex dump (first 32 bytes):
00 c4 0a 04 81 88 ff ff 08 10 11 16 81 88 ff ff …………….
08 10 11 16 81 88 ff ff 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 …………….
backtrace:
[] kmalloc_trace+0x22/0x60
[] phy_device_create+0x4e/0x90
[] get_phy_device+0xd2/0x220
[] mdiobus_scan+0xa4/0x2e0
[] __mdiobus_register+0x482/0x8b0
[] r6040_init_one+0x714/0xd2c [r6040]
…
The problem occurs in probe process as follows:
r6040_init_one:
mdiobus_register
mdiobus_scan <- alloc and register phy_device,
the reference count of phy_device is 3
r6040_mii_probe
phy_connect <- connect to the first phy_device,
so the reference count of the first
phy_device is 4, others are 3
register_netdev mii_bus);
err_out_mdio:
mdiobus_free(lp->mii_bus); <- the reference count of the first
phy_device is 1, it is not released
and other phy_devices are released
// similarly, the remove process also has the same problem
The root cause is traced to the phy_device is not disconnected when
removes one r6040 device in r6040_remove_one() or on error handling path
after r6040_mii probed successfully. In r6040_mii_probe(), a net ethernet
device is connected to the first PHY device of mii_bus, in order to
notify the connected driver when the link status changes, which is the
default behavior of the PHY infrastructure to handle everything.
Therefore the phy_device should be disconnected when removes one r6040
device or on error handling path.
Fix it by adding phy_disconnect() when removes one r6040 device or on
error handling path after r6040_mii probed successfully.
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How to fix CVE-2022-50545
Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: r6040: Fix kmemleak in probe and remove There is a memory leaks reported by kmemleak: unreferenced object 0xffff888116111000 (size 2048): comm “modprobe”, pid 817, jiffies 4294759745 (age 76.502s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 c4 0a 04 81 88 ff ff 08 10 11 16 […]
Exploit Difficulty: HARD
⏱️ Time to exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Required skills: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public exploits: Rare or not public
How to Fix:
- Check if you're running the affected product
- Update to the latest patched version
- If patching is not immediately possible: restrict network exposure, apply least-privilege access
- Test the fix in a staging environment first
- Review logs for signs of exploitation
- Monitor for IOCs (Indicators of Compromise)
- Enable automatic security updates
- Set up vulnerability monitoring
- Review and harden security configurations
Exploit Difficulty Assessment
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