# CVE-2022-50002: net/mlx5: LAG, fix logic over MLX5_LAG_FLAG_NDEVS_READY

> A logic error in the Mellanox mlx5 network driver can cause a kernel null pointer dereference, leading to a system crash.

- **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:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-50002, GHSA-p6rc-jf56-hhrr, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2022-50002, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-50002

## What is CVE-2022-50002?

CVE-2022-50002 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:

net/mlx5: LAG, fix logic over MLX5_LAG_FLAG_NDEVS_READY

Only set MLX5_LAG_FLAG_NDEVS_READY if both netdevices are registered.
Doing so guarantees that both ldev->pf[MLX5_LAG_P0].dev and
ldev->pf[MLX5_LAG_P1].dev have valid pointers when
MLX5_LAG_FLAG_NDEVS_READY is set.

The core issue is asymmetry in setting MLX5_LAG_FLAG_NDEVS_READY and
clearing it. Setting it is done wrongly when both
ldev->pf[MLX5_LAG_P0].dev and ldev->pf[MLX5_LAG_P1].dev are set;
clearing it is done right when either of ldev->pf[i].netdev is cleared.

Consider the following scenario:
1. PF0 loads and sets ldev->pf[MLX5_LAG_P0].dev to a valid pointer
2. PF1 loads and sets both ldev->pf[MLX5_LAG_P1].dev and
   ldev->pf[MLX5_LAG_P1].netdev with valid pointers. This results in
   MLX5_LAG_FLAG_NDEVS_READY is set.
3. PF0 is unloaded before setting dev->pf[MLX5_LAG_P0].netdev.
   MLX5_LAG_FLAG_NDEVS_READY remains set.

Further execution of mlx5_do_bond() will result in null pointer
dereference when calling mlx5_lag_is_multipath()

This patch fixes the following call trace actually encountered:

[ 1293.475195] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 00000000000009a8
[ 1293.478756] #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode
[ 1293.481320] #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page
[ 1293.483686] PGD 0 P4D 0
[ 1293.484434] Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP PTI
[ 1293.485377] CPU: 1 PID: 23690 Comm: kworker/u16:2 Not tainted 5.18.0-rc5_for_upstream_min_debug_2022_05_05_10_13 #1
[ 1293.488039] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.13.0-0-gf21b5a4aeb02-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014
[ 1293.490836] Workqueue: mlx5_lag mlx5_do_bond_work [mlx5_core]
[ 1293.492448] RIP: 0010:mlx5_lag_is_multipath+0x5/0x50 [mlx5_core]
[ 1293.494044] Code: e8 70 40 ff e0 48 8b 14 24 48 83 05 5c 1a 1b 00 01 e9 19 ff ff ff 48 83 05 47 1a 1b 00 01 eb d7 0f 1f 44 00 00 0f 1f 44 00 00 <48> 8b 87 a8 09 00 00 48 85 c0 74 26 48 83 05 a7 1b 1b 00 01 41 b8
[ 1293.498673] RSP: 0018:ffff88811b2fbe40 EFLAGS: 00010202
[ 1293.500152] RAX: ffff88818a94e1c0 RBX: ffff888165eca6c0 RCX: 0000000000000000
[ 1293.501841] RDX: 0000000000000001 RSI: ffff88818a94e1c0 RDI: 0000000000000000
[ 1293.503585] RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: ffff888119886740 R09: ffff888165eca73c
[ 1293.505286] R10: 0000000000000018 R11: 0000000000000018 R12: ffff88818a94e1c0
[ 1293.506979] R13: ffff888112729800 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: ffff888112729858
[ 1293.508753] FS:  0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff88852cc40000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
[ 1293.510782] CS:  0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
[ 1293.512265] CR2: 00000000000009a8 CR3: 00000001032d4002 CR4: 0000000000370ea0
[ 1293.514001] DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000
[ 1293.515806] DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-50002?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-50002?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-50002 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-50002 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-2022-50002 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-50002 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-2022-50002 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-2022-50002/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50002/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-50002
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-50002
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-50002

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50002/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.