# CVE-2022-49788: misc/vmw_vmci: fix an infoleak in vmci_host_do_receive_datagram()

> A local attacker can read uninitialized kernel memory via the VMCI host driver, potentially exposing sensitive data.

- **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:** 1 May 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-49788, GHSA-65f7-9jmg-75c7, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49788

## What is CVE-2022-49788?

CVE-2022-49788 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 May 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:

misc/vmw_vmci: fix an infoleak in vmci_host_do_receive_datagram()

`struct vmci_event_qp` allocated by qp_notify_peer() contains padding,
which may carry uninitialized data to the userspace, as observed by
KMSAN:

  BUG: KMSAN: kernel-infoleak in instrument_copy_to_user ./include/linux/instrumented.h:121
   instrument_copy_to_user ./include/linux/instrumented.h:121
   _copy_to_user+0x5f/0xb0 lib/usercopy.c:33
   copy_to_user ./include/linux/uaccess.h:169
   vmci_host_do_receive_datagram drivers/misc/vmw_vmci/vmci_host.c:431
   vmci_host_unlocked_ioctl+0x33d/0x43d0 drivers/misc/vmw_vmci/vmci_host.c:925
   vfs_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:51
  ...

  Uninit was stored to memory at:
   kmemdup+0x74/0xb0 mm/util.c:131
   dg_dispatch_as_host drivers/misc/vmw_vmci/vmci_datagram.c:271
   vmci_datagram_dispatch+0x4f8/0xfc0 drivers/misc/vmw_vmci/vmci_datagram.c:339
   qp_notify_peer+0x19a/0x290 drivers/misc/vmw_vmci/vmci_queue_pair.c:1479
   qp_broker_attach drivers/misc/vmw_vmci/vmci_queue_pair.c:1662
   qp_broker_alloc+0x2977/0x2f30 drivers/misc/vmw_vmci/vmci_queue_pair.c:1750
   vmci_qp_broker_alloc+0x96/0xd0 drivers/misc/vmw_vmci/vmci_queue_pair.c:1940
   vmci_host_do_alloc_queuepair drivers/misc/vmw_vmci/vmci_host.c:488
   vmci_host_unlocked_ioctl+0x24fd/0x43d0 drivers/misc/vmw_vmci/vmci_host.c:927
  ...

  Local variable ev created at:
   qp_notify_peer+0x54/0x290 drivers/misc/vmw_vmci/vmci_queue_pair.c:1456
   qp_broker_attach drivers/misc/vmw_vmci/vmci_queue_pair.c:1662
   qp_broker_alloc+0x2977/0x2f30 drivers/misc/vmw_vmci/vmci_queue_pair.c:1750

  Bytes 28-31 of 48 are uninitialized
  Memory access of size 48 starts at ffff888035155e00
  Data copied to user address 0000000020000100

Use memset() to prevent the infoleaks.

Also speculatively fix qp_notify_peer_local(), which may suffer from the
same problem.

Weakness: CWE-908 (Use of Uninitialized Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49788?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-49788?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-49788 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49788 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-2022-49788 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-49788 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 May 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-2022-49788 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-2022-49788/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49788/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-49788
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-49788
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-49788

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49788/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.