CVE-2022-50278 PNP: fix name memory leak in pnp_alloc_dev()
A memory leak in the Linux kernel PNP subsystem can lead to resource exhaustion and denial of service.
- 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
What is CVE-2022-50278?
CVE-2022-50278 is a medium-severity denial of service 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:
PNP: fix name memory leak in pnp_alloc_dev()
After commit 1fa5ae857bb1 ("driver core: get rid of struct device's bus_id string array"), the name of device is allocated dynamically, move dev_set_name() after pnp_add_id() to avoid memory leak.
Weakness: CWE-401
Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-50278?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2022-50278?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2022-50278 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-50278 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2022-50278, GHSA-fj56-2h43-2hcw, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-50278.