# CVE-2022-50170: kunit: executor: Fix a memory leak on failure in kunit_filter_tests

> A memory leak in the Linux kernel's KUnit executor can lead to resource exhaustion and denial of service.

- **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-2022-50170, GHSA-729q-4w2j-59v3, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-50170

## What is CVE-2022-50170?

CVE-2022-50170 is a medium-severity memory corruption 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:

kunit: executor: Fix a memory leak on failure in kunit_filter_tests

It's possible that memory allocation for 'filtered' will fail, but for the
copy of the suite to succeed. In this case, the copy could be leaked.

Properly free 'copy' in the error case for the allocation of 'filtered'
failing.

Note that there may also have been a similar issue in
kunit_filter_subsuites, before it was removed in "kunit: flatten
kunit_suite*** to kunit_suite** in .kunit_test_suites".

This was reported by clang-analyzer via the kernel test robot, here:
https://lore.kernel.org/all/c8073b8e-7b9e-0830-4177-87c12f16349c@intel.com/

And by smatch via Dan Carpenter and the kernel test robot:
https://lore.kernel.org/all/202207101328.ASjx88yj-lkp@intel.com/

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-50170?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-50170?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-50170 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-50170 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-2022-50170 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-50170 is a medium-severity memory corruption 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-2022-50170 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-2022-50170/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50170/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-50170
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-50170
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-50170

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50170/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.