# CVE-2022-49797: tracing: kprobe: Fix potential null-ptr-deref on trace_event_file in kprobe_event_gen_test_exit()

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's kprobe tracing module can cause a system crash when the module is removed after initialization failure.

- **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-2022-49797, GHSA-23wh-q78v-xxm4, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49797

## What is CVE-2022-49797?

CVE-2022-49797 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_event_file in kprobe_event_gen_test_exit()

When trace_get_event_file() failed, gen_kretprobe_test will be assigned
as the error code. If module kprobe_event_gen_test is removed now, the
null pointer dereference will happen in kprobe_event_gen_test_exit().
Check if gen_kprobe_test or gen_kretprobe_test is error code or NULL
before dereference them.

BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000012
PGD 0 P4D 0
Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP PTI
CPU: 3 PID: 2210 Comm: modprobe Not tainted
6.1.0-rc1-00171-g2159299a3b74-dirty #217
Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS
rel-1.15.0-0-g2dd4b9b3f840-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014
RIP: 0010:kprobe_event_gen_test_exit+0x1c/0xb5 [kprobe_event_gen_test]
Code: Unable to access opcode bytes at 0xffffffff9ffffff2.
RSP: 0018:ffffc900015bfeb8 EFLAGS: 00010246
RAX: ffffffffffffffea RBX: ffffffffa0002080 RCX: 0000000000000000
RDX: ffffffffa0001054 RSI: ffffffffa0001064 RDI: ffffffffdfc6349c
RBP: ffffffffa0000000 R08: 0000000000000004 R09: 00000000001e95c0
R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000001 R12: 0000000000000800
R13: ffffffffa0002420 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: 0000000000000000
FS:  00007f56b75be540(0000) GS:ffff88813bc00000(0000)
knlGS:0000000000000000
CS:  0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
CR2: ffffffff9ffffff2 CR3: 000000010874a006 CR4: 0000000000330ee0
DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000
DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400
Call Trace:
 <TASK>
 __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

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49797?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-49797?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-49797 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49797 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-2022-49797 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-49797 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-2022-49797 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-2022-49797/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49797/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-49797
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-49797
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-49797

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49797/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.