# CVE-2022-49649: xen/netback: avoid entering xenvif_rx_next_skb() with an empty rx queue

> A missing check in the Xen netback driver allows a remote attacker to trigger a kernel crash via a null pointer dereference.

- **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-2022-49649, GHSA-cf65-8q39-427f, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49649

## What is CVE-2022-49649?

CVE-2022-49649 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:

xen/netback: avoid entering xenvif_rx_next_skb() with an empty rx queue

xenvif_rx_next_skb() is expecting the rx queue not being empty, but
in case the loop in xenvif_rx_action() is doing multiple iterations,
the availability of another skb in the rx queue is not being checked.

This can lead to crashes:

[40072.537261] BUG: unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at 0000000000000080
[40072.537407] IP: xenvif_rx_skb+0x23/0x590 [xen_netback]
[40072.537534] PGD 0 P4D 0
[40072.537644] Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI
[40072.537749] CPU: 0 PID: 12505 Comm: v1-c40247-q2-gu Not tainted 4.12.14-122.121-default #1 SLE12-SP5
[40072.537867] Hardware name: HP ProLiant DL580 Gen9/ProLiant DL580 Gen9, BIOS U17 11/23/2021
[40072.537999] task: ffff880433b38100 task.stack: ffffc90043d40000
[40072.538112] RIP: e030:xenvif_rx_skb+0x23/0x590 [xen_netback]
[40072.538217] RSP: e02b:ffffc90043d43de0 EFLAGS: 00010246
[40072.538319] RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffffc90043cd7cd0 RCX: 00000000000000f7
[40072.538430] RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000006 RDI: ffffc90043d43df8
[40072.538531] RBP: 000000000000003f R08: 000077ff80000000 R09: 0000000000000008
[40072.538644] R10: 0000000000007ff0 R11: 00000000000008f6 R12: ffffc90043ce2708
[40072.538745] R13: 0000000000000000 R14: ffffc90043d43ed0 R15: ffff88043ea748c0
[40072.538861] FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff880484600000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
[40072.538988] CS: e033 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
[40072.539088] CR2: 0000000000000080 CR3: 0000000407ac8000 CR4: 0000000000040660
[40072.539211] Call Trace:
[40072.539319] xenvif_rx_action+0x71/0x90 [xen_netback]
[40072.539429] xenvif_kthread_guest_rx+0x14a/0x29c [xen_netback]

Fix that by stopping the loop in case the rx queue becomes empty.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49649?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-49649?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-49649 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49649 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-2022-49649 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-49649 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-2022-49649 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-2022-49649/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49649/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-49649
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-49649
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-49649

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49649/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.