CVE-2022-50505

5.5 MEDIUM
Denial of Service

📋 TL;DR

This CVE describes a memory leak vulnerability in the Linux kernel's AMD IOMMU driver. When the ppr_notifier() function fails to properly release PCI device references, it can cause kernel memory exhaustion over time. This affects Linux systems with AMD processors and IOMMU enabled.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:
  • Linux kernel
Versions: Specific kernel versions with the vulnerable AMD IOMMU driver code (check git commits for exact ranges)
Operating Systems: Linux distributions using affected kernel versions
Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes
Notes: Requires AMD processor with IOMMU enabled; not all Linux systems are affected.

⚠️ 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 leak leading to performance degradation and eventual system instability requiring reboot.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minimal impact with proper monitoring and regular reboots; memory leak would be detected before causing system failure.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - Requires local access or ability to trigger IOMMU operations; not directly exploitable over network.
🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Local users or processes could potentially trigger the memory leak, affecting system stability.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No
Weaponized: UNKNOWN
Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No
Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires triggering specific IOMMU operations; no known public exploits.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Kernel versions containing the git commits referenced in the CVE

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/03f51c72997559e73b327608f0cccfded715c9a0

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to patched version. 2. Check distribution-specific security advisories. 3. Reboot system after kernel update.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable AMD IOMMU

linux

Disable IOMMU functionality if not required (may impact virtualization/security features)

Add 'iommu=off' to kernel boot parameters in GRUB configuration

🧯 If You Can't Patch

  • Monitor kernel memory usage and implement alerting for abnormal memory consumption
  • Schedule regular system reboots to clear potential memory leaks

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check kernel version and verify if it contains the vulnerable code from the git commits

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify kernel version is updated beyond the patched commits; check 'uname -r' and compare with distribution security advisories

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

  • Kernel oops messages
  • Memory allocation failures in kernel logs
  • System instability logs

Network Indicators:

  • None - this is a local kernel vulnerability

SIEM Query:

Search for kernel panic messages or memory allocation failures in system logs

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2022-50505
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
Published: October 4, 2025
Last Updated: February 5, 2026

🤖 AI-assisted analysis, reviewed for accuracy

🔗 References

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