# CVE-2022-50253: bpf: make sure skb->len != 0 when redirecting to a tunneling device

> A missing length check in the Linux kernel BPF subsystem allows a local attacker to trigger a kernel warning or crash via a crafted BPF program.

- **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:** 15 Sep 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-50253, GHSA-mmcv-ff9h-q89c, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-50253

## What is CVE-2022-50253?

CVE-2022-50253 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 15 Sep 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: make sure skb->len != 0 when redirecting to a tunneling device

syzkaller managed to trigger another case where skb->len == 0
when we enter __dev_queue_xmit:

WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 2470 at include/linux/skbuff.h:2576 skb_assert_len include/linux/skbuff.h:2576 [inline]
WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 2470 at include/linux/skbuff.h:2576 __dev_queue_xmit+0x2069/0x35e0 net/core/dev.c:4295

Call Trace:
 dev_queue_xmit+0x17/0x20 net/core/dev.c:4406
 __bpf_tx_skb net/core/filter.c:2115 [inline]
 __bpf_redirect_no_mac net/core/filter.c:2140 [inline]
 __bpf_redirect+0x5fb/0xda0 net/core/filter.c:2163
 ____bpf_clone_redirect net/core/filter.c:2447 [inline]
 bpf_clone_redirect+0x247/0x390 net/core/filter.c:2419
 bpf_prog_48159a89cb4a9a16+0x59/0x5e
 bpf_dispatcher_nop_func include/linux/bpf.h:897 [inline]
 __bpf_prog_run include/linux/filter.h:596 [inline]
 bpf_prog_run include/linux/filter.h:603 [inline]
 bpf_test_run+0x46c/0x890 net/bpf/test_run.c:402
 bpf_prog_test_run_skb+0xbdc/0x14c0 net/bpf/test_run.c:1170
 bpf_prog_test_run+0x345/0x3c0 kernel/bpf/syscall.c:3648
 __sys_bpf+0x43a/0x6c0 kernel/bpf/syscall.c:5005
 __do_sys_bpf kernel/bpf/syscall.c:5091 [inline]
 __se_sys_bpf kernel/bpf/syscall.c:5089 [inline]
 __x64_sys_bpf+0x7c/0x90 kernel/bpf/syscall.c:5089
 do_syscall_64+0x54/0x70 arch/x86/entry/common.c:48
 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x61/0xc6

The reproducer doesn't really reproduce outside of syzkaller
environment, so I'm taking a guess here. It looks like we
do generate correct ETH_HLEN-sized packet, but we redirect
the packet to the tunneling device. Before we do so, we
__skb_pull l2 header and arrive again at skb->len == 0.
Doesn't seem like we can do anything better than having
an explicit check after __skb_pull?

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-50253?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-50253?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-50253 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-50253 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-2022-50253 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-50253 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 15 Sep 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-2022-50253 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-2022-50253/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50253/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-50253
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-50253
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-50253

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50253/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.