# CVE-2022-49567: mm/mempolicy: fix uninit-value in mpol_rebind_policy()

> An attacker with local access can trigger an uninitialized value read in the Linux kernel memory policy subsystem, potentially leaking sensitive kernel memory.

- **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-2022-49567, GHSA-pjh7-836p-gp8f, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49567

## What is CVE-2022-49567?

CVE-2022-49567 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:

mm/mempolicy: fix uninit-value in mpol_rebind_policy()

mpol_set_nodemask()(mm/mempolicy.c) does not set up nodemask when
pol->mode is MPOL_LOCAL.  Check pol->mode before access
pol->w.cpuset_mems_allowed in mpol_rebind_policy()(mm/mempolicy.c).

BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in mpol_rebind_policy mm/mempolicy.c:352 [inline]
BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in mpol_rebind_task+0x2ac/0x2c0 mm/mempolicy.c:368
 mpol_rebind_policy mm/mempolicy.c:352 [inline]
 mpol_rebind_task+0x2ac/0x2c0 mm/mempolicy.c:368
 cpuset_change_task_nodemask kernel/cgroup/cpuset.c:1711 [inline]
 cpuset_attach+0x787/0x15e0 kernel/cgroup/cpuset.c:2278
 cgroup_migrate_execute+0x1023/0x1d20 kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c:2515
 cgroup_migrate kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c:2771 [inline]
 cgroup_attach_task+0x540/0x8b0 kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c:2804
 __cgroup1_procs_write+0x5cc/0x7a0 kernel/cgroup/cgroup-v1.c:520
 cgroup1_tasks_write+0x94/0xb0 kernel/cgroup/cgroup-v1.c:539
 cgroup_file_write+0x4c2/0x9e0 kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c:3852
 kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x66a/0x9f0 fs/kernfs/file.c:296
 call_write_iter include/linux/fs.h:2162 [inline]
 new_sync_write fs/read_write.c:503 [inline]
 vfs_write+0x1318/0x2030 fs/read_write.c:590
 ksys_write+0x28b/0x510 fs/read_write.c:643
 __do_sys_write fs/read_write.c:655 [inline]
 __se_sys_write fs/read_write.c:652 [inline]
 __x64_sys_write+0xdb/0x120 fs/read_write.c:652
 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:51 [inline]
 do_syscall_64+0x54/0xd0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:82
 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae

Uninit was created at:
 slab_post_alloc_hook mm/slab.h:524 [inline]
 slab_alloc_node mm/slub.c:3251 [inline]
 slab_alloc mm/slub.c:3259 [inline]
 kmem_cache_alloc+0x902/0x11c0 mm/slub.c:3264
 mpol_new mm/mempolicy.c:293 [inline]
 do_set_mempolicy+0x421/0xb70 mm/mempolicy.c:853
 kernel_set_mempolicy mm/mempolicy.c:1504 [inline]
 __do_sys_set_mempolicy mm/mempolicy.c:1510 [inline]
 __se_sys_set_mempolicy+0x44c/0xb60 mm/mempolicy.c:1507
 __x64_sys_set_mempolicy+0xd8/0x110 mm/mempolicy.c:1507
 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:51 [inline]
 do_syscall_64+0x54/0xd0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:82
 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae

KMSAN: uninit-value in mpol_rebind_task (2)
https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?id=d6eb90f952c2a5de9ea718a1b873c55cb13b59dc

This patch seems to fix below bug too.
KMSAN: uninit-value in mpol_rebind_mm (2)
https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?id=f2fecd0d7013f54ec4162f60743a2b28df40926b

The uninit-value is pol->w.cpuset_mems_allowed in mpol_rebind_policy().
When syzkaller reproducer runs to the beginning of mpol_new(),

	    mpol_new() mm/mempolicy.c
	  do_mbind() mm/mempolicy.c
	kernel_mbind() mm/mempolicy.c

`mode` is 1(MPOL_PREFERRED), nodes_empty(*nodes) is `true` and `flags`
is 0. Then

	mode = MPOL_LOCAL;
	...
	policy->mode = mode;
	policy->flags = flags;

will be executed. So in mpol_set_nodemask(),

	    mpol_set_nodemask() mm/mempolicy.c
	  do_mbind()
	kernel_mbind()

pol->mode is 4 (MPOL_LOCAL), that `nodemask` in `pol` is not initialized,
which will be accessed in mpol_rebind_policy().

Weakness: CWE-908 (Use of Uninitialized Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49567?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-49567?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-49567 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49567 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-2022-49567 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-49567 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-2022-49567 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-2022-49567/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49567/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-49567
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-49567
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-49567

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49567/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.