# CVE-2022-49940: tty: n_gsm: add sanity check for gsm->receive in gsm_receive_buf()

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's n_gsm driver allows local attackers to cause a system crash via ioctl calls.

- **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:** 18 Jun 2025
- **Updated:** 23 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-49940, GHSA-52j6-g7fj-mfjm, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2022-49940, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2022-49940, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49940

## What is CVE-2022-49940?

CVE-2022-49940 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 Jun 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:

tty: n_gsm: add sanity check for gsm->receive in gsm_receive_buf()

A null pointer dereference can happen when attempting to access the
"gsm->receive()" function in gsmld_receive_buf(). Currently, the code
assumes that gsm->recieve is only called after MUX activation.
Since the gsmld_receive_buf() function can be accessed without the need to
initialize the MUX, the gsm->receive() function will not be set and a
NULL pointer dereference will occur.

Fix this by avoiding the call to "gsm->receive()" in case the function is
not initialized by adding a sanity check.

Call Trace:
 <TASK>
 gsmld_receive_buf+0x1c2/0x2f0 drivers/tty/n_gsm.c:2861
 tiocsti drivers/tty/tty_io.c:2293 [inline]
 tty_ioctl+0xa75/0x15d0 drivers/tty/tty_io.c:2692
 vfs_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:51 [inline]
 __do_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:870 [inline]
 __se_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:856 [inline]
 __x64_sys_ioctl+0x193/0x200 fs/ioctl.c:856
 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline]
 do_syscall_64+0x35/0xb0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80
 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49940?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-49940?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-49940 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49940 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-2022-49940 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-49940 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 Jun 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-2022-49940 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-2022-49940/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49940/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-49940
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-49940
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-49940

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49940/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.