# CVE-2022-48975: gpiolib: fix memory leak in gpiochip_setup_dev()

> A memory leak in the Linux kernel's gpiolib allows attackers to exhaust system memory, potentially causing a 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:** 21 Oct 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-48975, GHSA-5rmx-h57x-xq29, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2022-48975, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-48975

## What is CVE-2022-48975?

CVE-2022-48975 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 Oct 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:

gpiolib: fix memory leak in gpiochip_setup_dev()

Here is a backtrace report about memory leak detected in
gpiochip_setup_dev():

unreferenced object 0xffff88810b406400 (size 512):
  comm "python3", pid 1682, jiffies 4295346908 (age 24.090s)
  backtrace:
    kmalloc_trace
    device_add		device_private_init at drivers/base/core.c:3361
			(inlined by) device_add at drivers/base/core.c:3411
    cdev_device_add
    gpiolib_cdev_register
    gpiochip_setup_dev
    gpiochip_add_data_with_key

gcdev_register() & gcdev_unregister() would call device_add() &
device_del() (no matter CONFIG_GPIO_CDEV is enabled or not) to
register/unregister device.

However, if device_add() succeeds, some resource (like
struct device_private allocated by device_private_init())
is not released by device_del().

Therefore, after device_add() succeeds by gcdev_register(), it
needs to call put_device() to release resource in the error handle
path.

Here we move forward the register of release function, and let it
release every piece of resource by put_device() instead of kfree().

While at it, fix another subtle issue, i.e. when gc->ngpio is equal
to 0, we still call kcalloc() and, in case of further error, kfree()
on the ZERO_PTR pointer, which is not NULL. It's not a bug per se,
but rather waste of the resources and potentially wrong expectation
about contents of the gdev->descs variable.

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-48975?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-48975?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-48975 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-48975 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-2022-48975 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-48975 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 Oct 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-2022-48975 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-2022-48975/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-48975/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-48975
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-48975
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-48975

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-48975/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.