CVE-2022-50466
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a memory leak vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ELF binary loader. When loading certain ELF binaries fails during memory allocation, the kernel fails to properly release file resources, leading to gradual memory exhaustion. This affects all Linux systems running vulnerable kernel versions.
💻 Affected Systems
- Linux Kernel
📦 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 →⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Sustained exploitation could lead to kernel memory exhaustion, causing system instability, denial of service, or potential kernel crashes.
Likely Case
Gradual memory consumption over time leading to performance degradation and potential system instability.
If Mitigated
Minimal impact with proper memory monitoring and restart policies in place.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires ability to trigger the specific error path in load_elf_binary() function.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Multiple stable kernel versions with fixes: 265b6fb780f57d10449a40e94219b28fa52479cc and others listed in references
Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/265b6fb780f57d10449a40e94219b28fa52479cc
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update Linux kernel to patched version from your distribution's repositories. 2. Reboot system to load new kernel. 3. Verify kernel version after reboot.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Memory monitoring and limits
linuxImplement memory usage monitoring and set limits on process memory consumption
# Set memory limits using cgroups
systemctl set-property user.slice MemoryMax=2G
# Monitor memory usage
watch -n 5 'free -h'
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict process monitoring and restart policies for memory-intensive applications
- Deploy kernel memory leak detection tools like kmemleak for early warning
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check kernel version against patched versions from your distribution's security advisoriesCheck Version:
uname -rVerify Fix Applied:
Verify kernel version matches patched version and monitor for memory leaks using tools like kmemleak📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Kernel OOM (Out of Memory) messages in /var/log/kern.log
- Increasing memory usage without corresponding process activity
Network Indicators:
- None - this is a local vulnerability
SIEM Query:
source="kern.log" AND ("out of memory" OR "memory leak" OR "kmemleak")