# CVE-2022-49873: bpf: Fix wrong reg type conversion in release_reference()

> An unprivileged user can leak kernel pointers by exploiting a type conversion error in the eBPF verifier's reference release logic.

- **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-2022-49873, GHSA-p59w-r597-mmwf, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49873

## What is CVE-2022-49873?

CVE-2022-49873 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:

bpf: Fix wrong reg type conversion in release_reference()

Some helper functions will allocate memory. To avoid memory leaks, the
verifier requires the eBPF program to release these memories by calling
the corresponding helper functions.

When a resource is released, all pointer registers corresponding to the
resource should be invalidated. The verifier use release_references() to
do this job, by apply  __mark_reg_unknown() to each relevant register.

It will give these registers the type of SCALAR_VALUE. A register that
will contain a pointer value at runtime, but of type SCALAR_VALUE, which
may allow the unprivileged user to get a kernel pointer by storing this
register into a map.

Using __mark_reg_not_init() while NOT allow_ptr_leaks can mitigate this
problem.

Weakness: CWE-704 (Incorrect Type Conversion or Cast)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49873?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-49873?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-49873 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49873 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-2022-49873 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-49873 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-2022-49873 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-2022-49873/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49873/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-49873
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-49873
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-49873

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49873/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.