CVE-2022-49232 – This CVE describes a NULL pointer dereference v... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2022-49232?

CVE-2022-49232 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (MEDIUM). This CVE describes a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in the AMD GPU display driver component of the Linux kernel. If exploited, it could cause a kernel panic leading to denial of service. Systems using AMD graphics hardware with affected Linux kernel versions are vulnerable.

📋 TL;DR

This CVE describes a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in the AMD GPU display driver component of the Linux kernel. If exploited, it could cause a kernel panic leading to denial of service. Systems using AMD graphics hardware with affected Linux kernel versions are vulnerable.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Linux kernel with AMD GPU display driver (drm/amd/display)

Versions: Linux kernel versions containing the vulnerable code prior to fixes in stable releases

Operating Systems: Linux distributions with affected kernel versions

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Requires AMD GPU hardware and the affected display driver component to be loaded and active.

📦 What is this software?

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Kernel panic leading to system crash and denial of service, potentially requiring physical access to reboot the system.

🟠

Likely Case

System crash or instability when specific display modes are configured, requiring reboot to recover.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minor system instability that self-recovers or requires user intervention to restart affected services.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - Requires local access or specific display configuration to trigger.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Local users or processes with appropriate privileges could trigger the vulnerability.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: NO

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires triggering specific display mode operations, typically requiring local access and specific conditions.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Linux kernel stable releases containing commits: 19a7eba284790cfbba2945deb2363cf03ce41648, 2c729dec8c1e3e2892fde5ce8181553860914e74, 57f4ad5e286fe4599c8fc63cf89f85f9eec7f9c9, 588a70177df3b1777484267584ef38ab2ca899a2, 639b3b9def0a6a3f316a195d705d14113236e89c

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/19a7eba284790cfbba2945deb2363cf03ce41648

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to patched version from official distribution repositories. 2. Reboot system to load new kernel. 3. Verify kernel version after reboot.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable AMD GPU driver module

linux

Prevent loading of the vulnerable AMD display driver module

echo 'blacklist amdgpu' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
update-initramfs -u
reboot

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Restrict local user access to systems with AMD GPUs
Monitor system logs for kernel panic events related to display operations

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check if system has AMD GPU and affected kernel version: lspci | grep -i amd && uname -r

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify kernel version is updated beyond vulnerable versions and check dmesg for no NULL pointer dereference errors in display operations

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Kernel panic messages in /var/log/kern.log or dmesg
NULL pointer dereference errors mentioning amdgpu_dm_connector_add_common_modes

Network Indicators:

None - local vulnerability only

SIEM Query:

source="kernel" AND ("NULL pointer dereference" OR "kernel panic") AND "amdgpu"

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2022-49232

CVSS v3 Score: 5.5 (MEDIUM)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CWE: CWE-476

EPSS Score: 0.04% exploit probability (10.1th percentile)

Published: February 26, 2025

Last Updated: October 1, 2025

🔗 References

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