CVE-2022-50616

EPSS 0.0%
  • Published: 2025-12-08T02:15:47.330

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

regulator: core: Use different devices for resource allocation and DT lookup

Following by the below discussion, there’s the potential UAF issue
between regulator and mfd.
https://lore.kernel.org/all/20221128143601.1698148-1-yangyingliang@huawei.com/

From the analysis of Yingliang

CPU A |CPU B
mt6370_probe() |
devm_mfd_add_devices() |
|mt6370_regulator_probe()
| regulator_register()
| //allocate init_data and add it to devres
| regulator_of_get_init_data()
i2c_unregister_device() |
device_del() |
devres_release_all() |
// init_data is freed |
release_nodes() |
| // using init_data causes UAF
| regulator_register()

It’s common to use mfd core to create child device for the regulator.
In order to do the DT lookup for init data, the child that registered
the regulator would pass its parent as the parameter. And this causes
init data resource allocated to its parent, not itself. The issue happen
when parent device is going to release and regulator core is still doing
some operation of init data constraint for the regulator of child device.

To fix it, this patch expand ‘regulator_register’ API to use the
different devices for init data allocation and DT lookup.

Related CVE by CWE

No related CWE found.

Top CVE for Vendor

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Recently Exploited Similar Vulnerabilities

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

How to fix CVE-2022-50616

CVE-2022-50616 is a unknown severity vulnerability affecting the affected product.

Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: regulator: core: Use different devices for resource allocation and DT lookup Following by the below discussion, there’s the potential UAF issue between regulator and mfd. https://lore.kernel.org/all/20221128143601.1698148-1-yangyingliang@huawei.com/ From the analysis of Yingliang CPU A |CPU B mt6370_probe() | devm_mfd_add_devices() | |mt6370_regulator_probe() | regulator_register() | //allocate init_data […]

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

Vendor Advisory: https://lore.kernel.org/all/20221128143601.1698148-1-yangyingliang@huawei.com/

Exploit Difficulty Assessment

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

Vulnerability Timeline

Dec 08, 2025
Vulnerability Published

CVE details first published to NVD database

Dec 08, 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.