# CVE-2022-49197: af_netlink: Fix shift out of bounds in group mask calculation

> A shift-out-of-bounds error in the Linux kernel netlink subsystem can cause undefined behavior or crashes when handling high-numbered multicast groups.

- **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:** 26 Feb 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-49197, GHSA-mmh9-qrx9-9x5h, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49197

## What is CVE-2022-49197?

CVE-2022-49197 is a medium-severity 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:

af_netlink: Fix shift out of bounds in group mask calculation

When a netlink message is received, netlink_recvmsg() fills in the address
of the sender. One of the fields is the 32-bit bitfield nl_groups, which
carries the multicast group on which the message was received. The least
significant bit corresponds to group 1, and therefore the highest group
that the field can represent is 32. Above that, the UB sanitizer flags the
out-of-bounds shift attempts.

Which bits end up being set in such case is implementation defined, but
it's either going to be a wrong non-zero value, or zero, which is at least
not misleading. Make the latter choice deterministic by always setting to 0
for higher-numbered multicast groups.

To get information about membership in groups >= 32, userspace is expected
to use nl_pktinfo control messages[0], which are enabled by NETLINK_PKTINFO
socket option.
[0] https://lwn.net/Articles/147608/

The way to trigger this issue is e.g. through monitoring the BRVLAN group:

	# bridge monitor vlan &
	# ip link add name br type bridge

Which produces the following citation:

	UBSAN: shift-out-of-bounds in net/netlink/af_netlink.c:162:19
	shift exponent 32 is too large for 32-bit type 'int'

Weakness: CWE-190 (Integer Overflow or Wraparound)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49197?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-49197?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-49197 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49197 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-2022-49197 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-49197 is a medium-severity 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49197 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-2022-49197/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49197/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-49197
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-49197
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-49197

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49197/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.