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.

Related CVE by CWE

No related CWE found.

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Recently Exploited Similar Vulnerabilities

No recent KEV-listed items for this vendor/product.

How to fix CVE-2022-50545

CVE-2022-50545 is a unknown severity vulnerability affecting the affected product.

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:

1 Identify affected systems

- Check if you're running the affected product

2 Immediate actions

- Update to the latest patched version
- If patching is not immediately possible: restrict network exposure, apply least-privilege access

3 Verification

- Test the fix in a staging environment first
- Review logs for signs of exploitation
- Monitor for IOCs (Indicators of Compromise)

4 Long-term prevention

- Enable automatic security updates
- Set up vulnerability monitoring
- Review and harden security configurations

Exploit Difficulty Assessment

HARD
⏱️ Time to Exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Skills Required: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public Exploits: Rare or not public

Vulnerability Timeline

Oct 07, 2025
Vulnerability Published

CVE details first published to NVD database

Nov 12, 2025
Imported to Database

Added to this CVE tracking system

Detection Rules & IOCs

No specific detection rules generated for this vulnerability type.

No vendor/product data available.