# CVE-2022-49796: tracing: kprobe: Fix potential null-ptr-deref on trace_array in kprobe_event_gen_test_exit() > A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's kprobe tracing module can cause a system crash when unloading the test module. - **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-2022-49796, GHSA-988r-r585-2mrv, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49796 ## What is CVE-2022-49796? CVE-2022-49796 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: tracing: kprobe: Fix potential null-ptr-deref on trace_array in kprobe_event_gen_test_exit() When test_gen_kprobe_cmd() failed after kprobe_event_gen_cmd_end(), it will goto delete, which will call kprobe_event_delete() and release the corresponding resource. However, the trace_array in gen_kretprobe_test will point to the invalid resource. Set gen_kretprobe_test to NULL after called kprobe_event_delete() to prevent null-ptr-deref. BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000070 PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP PTI CPU: 0 PID: 246 Comm: modprobe Tainted: G W 6.1.0-rc1-00174-g9522dc5c87da-dirty #248 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.15.0-0-g2dd4b9b3f840-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:__ftrace_set_clr_event_nolock+0x53/0x1b0 Code: e8 82 26 fc ff 49 8b 1e c7 44 24 0c ea ff ff ff 49 39 de 0f 84 3c 01 00 00 c7 44 24 18 00 00 00 00 e8 61 26 fc ff 48 8b 6b 10 <44> 8b 65 70 4c 8b 6d 18 41 f7 c4 00 02 00 00 75 2f RSP: 0018:ffffc9000159fe00 EFLAGS: 00010293 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff88810971d268 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: ffff8881080be600 RSI: ffffffff811b48ff RDI: ffff88810971d058 RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000001 R10: ffffc9000159fe58 R11: 0000000000000001 R12: ffffffffa0001064 R13: ffffffffa000106c R14: ffff88810971d238 R15: 0000000000000000 FS: 00007f89eeff6540(0000) GS:ffff88813b600000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000000000070 CR3: 000000010599e004 CR4: 0000000000330ef0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: __ftrace_set_clr_event+0x3e/0x60 trace_array_set_clr_event+0x35/0x50 ? 0xffffffffa0000000 kprobe_event_gen_test_exit+0xcd/0x10b [kprobe_event_gen_test] __x64_sys_delete_module+0x206/0x380 ? lockdep_hardirqs_on_prepare+0xd8/0x190 ? syscall_enter_from_user_mode+0x1c/0x50 do_syscall_64+0x3f/0x90 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd RIP: 0033:0x7f89eeb061b7 Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49796? It affects 1 product. Products: Linux kernel. ## How do I fix CVE-2022-49796? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2022-49796 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49796 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-2022-49796 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2022-49796 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-2022-49796 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-2022-49796/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49796/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-49796 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-49796 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-49796 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49796/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.