# CVE-2022-48918: iwlwifi: mvm: check debugfs_dir ptr before use

> A null pointer dereference in the iwlwifi kernel module causes a system crash when debugfs is disabled, leading to denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **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:** 22 Aug 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-48918, GHSA-f2cf-vg85-495f, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-48918

## What is CVE-2022-48918?

CVE-2022-48918 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 22 Aug 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:

iwlwifi: mvm: check debugfs_dir ptr before use

When "debugfs=off" is used on the kernel command line, iwiwifi's
mvm module uses an invalid/unchecked debugfs_dir pointer and causes
a BUG:

 BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 000000000000004f
 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode
 #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page
 PGD 0 P4D 0
 Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP
 CPU: 1 PID: 503 Comm: modprobe Tainted: G        W         5.17.0-rc5 #7
 Hardware name: Dell Inc. Inspiron 15 5510/076F7Y, BIOS 2.4.1 11/05/2021
 RIP: 0010:iwl_mvm_dbgfs_register+0x692/0x700 [iwlmvm]
 Code: 69 a0 be 80 01 00 00 48 c7 c7 50 73 6a a0 e8 95 cf ee e0 48 8b 83 b0 1e 00 00 48 c7 c2 54 73 6a a0 be 64 00 00 00 48 8d 7d 8c <48> 8b 48 50 e8 15 22 07 e1 48 8b 43 28 48 8d 55 8c 48 c7 c7 5f 73
 RSP: 0018:ffffc90000a0ba68 EFLAGS: 00010246
 RAX: ffffffffffffffff RBX: ffff88817d6e3328 RCX: ffff88817d6e3328
 RDX: ffffffffa06a7354 RSI: 0000000000000064 RDI: ffffc90000a0ba6c
 RBP: ffffc90000a0bae0 R08: ffffffff824e4880 R09: ffffffffa069d620
 R10: ffffc90000a0ba00 R11: ffffffffffffffff R12: 0000000000000000
 R13: ffffc90000a0bb28 R14: ffff88817d6e3328 R15: ffff88817d6e3320
 FS:  00007f64dd92d740(0000) GS:ffff88847f640000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
 CS:  0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
 CR2: 000000000000004f CR3: 000000016fc79001 CR4: 0000000000770ee0
 PKRU: 55555554
 Call Trace:
  <TASK>
  ? iwl_mvm_mac_setup_register+0xbdc/0xda0 [iwlmvm]
  iwl_mvm_start_post_nvm+0x71/0x100 [iwlmvm]
  iwl_op_mode_mvm_start+0xab8/0xb30 [iwlmvm]
  _iwl_op_mode_start+0x6f/0xd0 [iwlwifi]
  iwl_opmode_register+0x6a/0xe0 [iwlwifi]
  ? 0xffffffffa0231000
  iwl_mvm_init+0x35/0x1000 [iwlmvm]
  ? 0xffffffffa0231000
  do_one_initcall+0x5a/0x1b0
  ? kmem_cache_alloc+0x1e5/0x2f0
  ? do_init_module+0x1e/0x220
  do_init_module+0x48/0x220
  load_module+0x2602/0x2bc0
  ? __kernel_read+0x145/0x2e0
  ? kernel_read_file+0x229/0x290
  __do_sys_finit_module+0xc5/0x130
  ? __do_sys_finit_module+0xc5/0x130
  __x64_sys_finit_module+0x13/0x20
  do_syscall_64+0x38/0x90
  entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae
 RIP: 0033:0x7f64dda564dd
 Code: 5b 41 5c c3 66 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 f3 0f 1e fa 48 89 f8 48 89 f7 48 89 d6 48 89 ca 4d 89 c2 4d 89 c8 4c 8b 4c 24 08 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 8b 0d 1b 29 0f 00 f7 d8 64 89 01 48
 RSP: 002b:00007ffdba393f88 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000139
 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 00007f64dda564dd
 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 00005575399e2ab2 RDI: 0000000000000001
 RBP: 000055753a91c5e0 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000002
 R10: 0000000000000001 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 00005575399e2ab2
 R13: 000055753a91ceb0 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: 000055753a923018
  </TASK>
 Modules linked in: btintel(+) btmtk bluetooth vfat snd_hda_codec_hdmi fat snd_hda_codec_realtek snd_hda_codec_generic iwlmvm(+) snd_sof_pci_intel_tgl mac80211 snd_sof_intel_hda_common soundwire_intel soundwire_generic_allocation soundwire_cadence soundwire_bus snd_sof_intel_hda snd_sof_pci snd_sof snd_sof_xtensa_dsp snd_soc_hdac_hda snd_hda_ext_core snd_soc_acpi_intel_match snd_soc_acpi snd_soc_core btrfs snd_compress snd_hda_intel snd_intel_dspcfg snd_intel_sdw_acpi snd_hda_codec raid6_pq iwlwifi snd_hda_core snd_pcm snd_timer snd soundcore cfg80211 intel_ish_ipc(+) thunderbolt rfkill intel_ishtp ucsi_acpi wmi i2c_hid_acpi i2c_hid evdev
 CR2: 000000000000004f
 ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---

Check the debugfs_dir pointer for an error before using it.

[change to make both conditional]

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-48918?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-48918?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-48918 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-48918 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-2022-48918 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-48918 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 22 Aug 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-2022-48918 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-2022-48918/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-48918/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-48918
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-48918
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-48918

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-48918/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.