CVE-2022-49191 mxser: fix xmit_buf leak in activate when LSR == 0xff
A memory leak in the mxser serial driver allows attackers to cause denial of service by triggering specific hardware status conditions.
- 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
What is CVE-2022-49191?
CVE-2022-49191 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 26 Feb 2025. 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:
mxser: fix xmit_buf leak in activate when LSR == 0xff
When LSR is 0xff in ->activate() (rather unlike), we return an error. Provided ->shutdown() is not called when ->activate() fails, nothing actually frees the buffer in this case.
Fix this by properly freeing the buffer in a designated label. We jump there also from the "!info->type" if now too.
Weakness: CWE-401
Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49191?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2022-49191?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2022-49191 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49191 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2022-49191, GHSA-q3x4-7j6p-fj5f, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49191.