CVE-2022-50731
- Published: 2025-12-24T13:15:59.770
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
crypto: akcipher – default implementation for setting a private key
Changes from v1:
* removed the default implementation from set_pub_key: it is assumed that
an implementation must always have this callback defined as there are
no use case for an algorithm, which doesn’t need a public key
Many akcipher implementations (like ECDSA) support only signature
verifications, so they don’t have all callbacks defined.
Commit 78a0324f4a53 (“crypto: akcipher – default implementations for
request callbacks”) introduced default callbacks for sign/verify
operations, which just return an error code.
However, these are not enough, because before calling sign the caller would
likely call set_priv_key first on the instantiated transform (as the
in-kernel testmgr does). This function does not have a default stub, so the
kernel crashes, when trying to set a private key on an akcipher, which
doesn’t support signature generation.
I’ve noticed this, when trying to add a KAT vector for ECDSA signature to
the testmgr.
With this patch the testmgr returns an error in dmesg (as it should)
instead of crashing the kernel NULL ptr dereference.
Related CVE by CWE
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How to fix CVE-2022-50731
Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: crypto: akcipher – default implementation for setting a private key Changes from v1: * removed the default implementation from set_pub_key: it is assumed that an implementation must always have this callback defined as there are no use case for an algorithm, which doesn’t need a […]
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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