# CVE-2022-48764: KVM: x86: Free kvm_cpuid_entry2 array on post-KVM_RUN KVM_SET_CPUID{,2} > A memory leak in the Linux kernel KVM module allows local attackers to exhaust system memory, causing denial of service. - **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Any signed-in user - **Attackable:** Local or same network only - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 20 Jun 2024 - **Updated:** 11 May 2026 - **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-48764, GHSA-v7qr-4h7w-77cm, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-48764 ## What is CVE-2022-48764? CVE-2022-48764 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 20 Jun 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim. ### Official description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: x86: Free kvm_cpuid_entry2 array on post-KVM_RUN KVM_SET_CPUID{,2} Free the "struct kvm_cpuid_entry2" array on successful post-KVM_RUN KVM_SET_CPUID{,2} to fix a memory leak, the callers of kvm_set_cpuid() free the array only on failure. BUG: memory leak unreferenced object 0xffff88810963a800 (size 2048): comm "syz-executor025", pid 3610, jiffies 4294944928 (age 8.080s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0d 00 00 00 ................ 47 65 6e 75 6e 74 65 6c 69 6e 65 49 00 00 00 00 GenuntelineI.... backtrace: [] kmalloc_node include/linux/slab.h:604 [inline] [] kvmalloc_node+0x3e/0x100 mm/util.c:580 [] kvmalloc include/linux/slab.h:732 [inline] [] vmemdup_user+0x22/0x100 mm/util.c:199 [] kvm_vcpu_ioctl_set_cpuid2+0x8f/0xf0 arch/x86/kvm/cpuid.c:423 [] kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl+0xb99/0x1e60 arch/x86/kvm/x86.c:5251 [] kvm_vcpu_ioctl+0x4ad/0x950 arch/x86/kvm/../../../virt/kvm/kvm_main.c:4066 [] vfs_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:51 [inline] [] __do_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:874 [inline] [] __se_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:860 [inline] [] __x64_sys_ioctl+0xfc/0x140 fs/ioctl.c:860 [] do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline] [] do_syscall_64+0x35/0xb0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80 [] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-48764? It affects 1 product. Products: Linux kernel. ## How do I fix CVE-2022-48764? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2022-48764 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-48764 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel - [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2022-48764 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2022-48764 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 20 Jun 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-48764 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page. Task: 1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies. 2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it. 3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead. 4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why. 5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing. Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-48764/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-48764/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-48764 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-48764 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-48764 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-48764/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.