# CVE-2022-49851: riscv: fix reserved memory setup

> A kernel panic occurs in the Linux kernel on RISC-V architectures due to invalid memory access during reserved memory setup.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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:** 23 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-49851, GHSA-mx8w-x2cj-333g, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49851

## What is CVE-2022-49851?

CVE-2022-49851 is a high-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:

riscv: fix reserved memory setup

Currently, RISC-V sets up reserved memory using the "early" copy of the
device tree. As a result, when trying to get a reserved memory region
using of_reserved_mem_lookup(), the pointer to reserved memory regions
is using the early, pre-virtual-memory address which causes a kernel
panic when trying to use the buffer's name:

 Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address 00000000401c31ac
 Oops [#1]
 Modules linked in:
 CPU: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper Not tainted 6.0.0-rc1-00001-g0d9d6953d834 #1
 Hardware name: Microchip PolarFire-SoC Icicle Kit (DT)
 epc : string+0x4a/0xea
  ra : vsnprintf+0x1e4/0x336
 epc : ffffffff80335ea0 ra : ffffffff80338936 sp : ffffffff81203be0
  gp : ffffffff812e0a98 tp : ffffffff8120de40 t0 : 0000000000000000
  t1 : ffffffff81203e28 t2 : 7265736572203a46 s0 : ffffffff81203c20
  s1 : ffffffff81203e28 a0 : ffffffff81203d22 a1 : 0000000000000000
  a2 : ffffffff81203d08 a3 : 0000000081203d21 a4 : ffffffffffffffff
  a5 : 00000000401c31ac a6 : ffff0a00ffffff04 a7 : ffffffffffffffff
  s2 : ffffffff81203d08 s3 : ffffffff81203d00 s4 : 0000000000000008
  s5 : ffffffff000000ff s6 : 0000000000ffffff s7 : 00000000ffffff00
  s8 : ffffffff80d9821a s9 : ffffffff81203d22 s10: 0000000000000002
  s11: ffffffff80d9821c t3 : ffffffff812f3617 t4 : ffffffff812f3617
  t5 : ffffffff812f3618 t6 : ffffffff81203d08
 status: 0000000200000100 badaddr: 00000000401c31ac cause: 000000000000000d
 [<ffffffff80338936>] vsnprintf+0x1e4/0x336
 [<ffffffff80055ae2>] vprintk_store+0xf6/0x344
 [<ffffffff80055d86>] vprintk_emit+0x56/0x192
 [<ffffffff80055ed8>] vprintk_default+0x16/0x1e
 [<ffffffff800563d2>] vprintk+0x72/0x80
 [<ffffffff806813b2>] _printk+0x36/0x50
 [<ffffffff8068af48>] print_reserved_mem+0x1c/0x24
 [<ffffffff808057ec>] paging_init+0x528/0x5bc
 [<ffffffff808031ae>] setup_arch+0xd0/0x592
 [<ffffffff8080070e>] start_kernel+0x82/0x73c

early_init_fdt_scan_reserved_mem() takes no arguments as it operates on
initial_boot_params, which is populated by early_init_dt_verify(). On
RISC-V, early_init_dt_verify() is called twice. Once, directly, in
setup_arch() if CONFIG_BUILTIN_DTB is not enabled and once indirectly,
very early in the boot process, by parse_dtb() when it calls
early_init_dt_scan_nodes().

This first call uses dtb_early_va to set initial_boot_params, which is
not usable later in the boot process when
early_init_fdt_scan_reserved_mem() is called. On arm64 for example, the
corresponding call to early_init_dt_scan_nodes() uses fixmap addresses
and doesn't suffer the same fate.

Move early_init_fdt_scan_reserved_mem() further along the boot sequence,
after the direct call to early_init_dt_verify() in setup_arch() so that
the names use the correct virtual memory addresses. The above supposed
that CONFIG_BUILTIN_DTB was not set, but should work equally in the case
where it is - unflatted_and_copy_device_tree() also updates
initial_boot_params.

Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49851?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-49851?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-49851 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49851 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-2022-49851 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-49851 is a high-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-2022-49851 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-2022-49851/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49851/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-49851
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-49851
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-49851

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49851/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.
