# CVE-2022-49509: media: i2c: max9286: fix kernel oops when removing module

> A null pointer dereference in the max9286 driver causes a kernel oops when the module is removed, leading to a denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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-2022-49509, GHSA-qj3c-cr7p-g92q, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2022-49509, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49509

## What is CVE-2022-49509?

CVE-2022-49509 is a high-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:

media: i2c: max9286: fix kernel oops when removing module

When removing the max9286 module we get a kernel oops:

Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address 000000aa00000094
Mem abort info:
  ESR = 0x96000004
  EC = 0x25: DABT (current EL), IL = 32 bits
  SET = 0, FnV = 0
  EA = 0, S1PTW = 0
  FSC = 0x04: level 0 translation fault
Data abort info:
  ISV = 0, ISS = 0x00000004
  CM = 0, WnR = 0
user pgtable: 4k pages, 48-bit VAs, pgdp=0000000880d85000
[000000aa00000094] pgd=0000000000000000, p4d=0000000000000000
Internal error: Oops: 96000004 [#1] PREEMPT SMP
Modules linked in: fsl_jr_uio caam_jr rng_core libdes caamkeyblob_desc caamhash_desc caamalg_desc crypto_engine max9271 authenc crct10dif_ce mxc_jpeg_encdec
CPU: 2 PID: 713 Comm: rmmod Tainted: G         C        5.15.5-00057-gaebcd29c8ed7-dirty #5
Hardware name: Freescale i.MX8QXP MEK (DT)
pstate: 80000005 (Nzcv daif -PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--)
pc : i2c_mux_del_adapters+0x24/0xf0
lr : max9286_remove+0x28/0xd0 [max9286]
sp : ffff800013a9bbf0
x29: ffff800013a9bbf0 x28: ffff00080b6da940 x27: 0000000000000000
x26: 0000000000000000 x25: 0000000000000000 x24: 0000000000000000
x23: ffff000801a5b970 x22: ffff0008048b0890 x21: ffff800009297000
x20: ffff0008048b0f70 x19: 000000aa00000064 x18: 0000000000000000
x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000000 x15: 0000000000000000
x14: 0000000000000014 x13: 0000000000000000 x12: ffff000802da49e8
x11: ffff000802051918 x10: ffff000802da4920 x9 : ffff000800030098
x8 : 0101010101010101 x7 : 7f7f7f7f7f7f7f7f x6 : fefefeff6364626d
x5 : 8080808000000000 x4 : 0000000000000000 x3 : 0000000000000000
x2 : ffffffffffffffff x1 : ffff00080b6da940 x0 : 0000000000000000
Call trace:
 i2c_mux_del_adapters+0x24/0xf0
 max9286_remove+0x28/0xd0 [max9286]
 i2c_device_remove+0x40/0x110
 __device_release_driver+0x188/0x234
 driver_detach+0xc4/0x150
 bus_remove_driver+0x60/0xe0
 driver_unregister+0x34/0x64
 i2c_del_driver+0x58/0xa0
 max9286_i2c_driver_exit+0x1c/0x490 [max9286]
 __arm64_sys_delete_module+0x194/0x260
 invoke_syscall+0x48/0x114
 el0_svc_common.constprop.0+0xd4/0xfc
 do_el0_svc+0x2c/0x94
 el0_svc+0x28/0x80
 el0t_64_sync_handler+0xa8/0x130
 el0t_64_sync+0x1a0/0x1a4

The Oops happens because the I2C client data does not point to
max9286_priv anymore but to v4l2_subdev. The change happened in
max9286_init() which calls v4l2_i2c_subdev_init() later on...

Besides fixing the max9286_remove() function, remove the call to
i2c_set_clientdata() in max9286_probe(), to avoid confusion, and make
the necessary changes to max9286_init() so that it doesn't have to use
i2c_get_clientdata() in order to fetch the pointer to priv.

Weakness: CWE-668 (Exposure of Resource to Wrong Sphere)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49509?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-49509?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-49509 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49509 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-2022-49509 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-49509 is a high-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-2022-49509 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-2022-49509/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49509/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-49509
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-49509
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-49509

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49509/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.