# CVE-2022-49863: can: af_can: fix NULL pointer dereference in can_rx_register()

> A local attacker can cause a kernel crash by binding a bond device to a CAN socket, leading to a NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel.

- **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:** 23 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-49863, GHSA-fpwm-r92q-hvjc, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49863

## What is CVE-2022-49863?

CVE-2022-49863 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:

can: af_can: fix NULL pointer dereference in can_rx_register()

It causes NULL pointer dereference when testing as following:
(a) use syscall(__NR_socket, 0x10ul, 3ul, 0) to create netlink socket.
(b) use syscall(__NR_sendmsg, ...) to create bond link device and vxcan
    link device, and bind vxcan device to bond device (can also use
    ifenslave command to bind vxcan device to bond device).
(c) use syscall(__NR_socket, 0x1dul, 3ul, 1) to create CAN socket.
(d) use syscall(__NR_bind, ...) to bind the bond device to CAN socket.

The bond device invokes the can-raw protocol registration interface to
receive CAN packets. However, ml_priv is not allocated to the dev,
dev_rcv_lists is assigned to NULL in can_rx_register(). In this case,
it will occur the NULL pointer dereference issue.

The following is the stack information:
BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000008
PGD 122a4067 P4D 122a4067 PUD 1223c067 PMD 0
Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP
RIP: 0010:can_rx_register+0x12d/0x1e0
Call Trace:
<TASK>
raw_enable_filters+0x8d/0x120
raw_enable_allfilters+0x3b/0x130
raw_bind+0x118/0x4f0
__sys_bind+0x163/0x1a0
__x64_sys_bind+0x1e/0x30
do_syscall_64+0x35/0x80
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd
</TASK>

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49863?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-49863?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-49863 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49863 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-2022-49863 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-49863 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-2022-49863 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-2022-49863/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49863/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-49863
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-49863
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-49863

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49863/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.