CVE-2022-49203 drm/amd/display: Fix double free during GPU reset on DC streams

What is CVE-2022-49203?

CVE-2022-49203 is a high-severity use after free 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:

drm/amd/display: Fix double free during GPU reset on DC streams

[Why] The issue only occurs during the GPU reset code path.

We first backup the current state prior to commiting 0 streams internally from DM to DC. This state backup contains valid link encoder assignments.

DC will clear the link encoder assignments as part of current state (but not the backup, since it was a copied before the commit) and free the extra stream reference it held.

DC requires that the link encoder assignments remain cleared/invalid prior to commiting. Since the backup still has valid assignments we call the interface post reset to clear them. This routine also releases the extra reference that the link encoder interface held - resulting in a double free (and eventually a NULL pointer dereference).

[How] We'll have to do a full DC commit anyway after GPU reset because the stream count previously went to 0.

We don't need to retain the assignment that we had backed up, so just copy off of the now clean current state assignment after the reset has occcurred with the new link_enc_cfg_copy() interface.

Weakness: CWE-415

Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49203?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2022-49203?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.

Is CVE-2022-49203 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49203 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

• CVE-2026-53266 Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2013-6282 Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2022-0185 Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2013-2094 Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2026-53362 Linux Kernel Unspecified Exploited High 7.8

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2022-49203, GHSA-v846-qx2m-x9p5, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2022-49203, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49203.