# CVE-2022-50288: qlcnic: prevent ->dcb use-after-free on qlcnic_dcb_enable() failure

> A use-after-free vulnerability in the qlcnic network driver allows attackers to potentially execute code or escalate privileges via memory corruption.

- **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-2022-50288, GHSA-rqx9-pg4r-6qm3, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-50288

## What is CVE-2022-50288?

CVE-2022-50288 is a medium-severity use after free 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:

qlcnic: prevent ->dcb use-after-free on qlcnic_dcb_enable() failure

adapter->dcb would get silently freed inside qlcnic_dcb_enable() in
case qlcnic_dcb_attach() would return an error, which always happens
under OOM conditions. This would lead to use-after-free because both
of the existing callers invoke qlcnic_dcb_get_info() on the obtained
pointer, which is potentially freed at that point.

Propagate errors from qlcnic_dcb_enable(), and instead free the dcb
pointer at callsite using qlcnic_dcb_free(). This also removes the now
unused qlcnic_clear_dcb_ops() helper, which was a simple wrapper around
kfree() also causing memory leaks for partially initialized dcb.

Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with the SVACE
static analysis tool.

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-50288?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-50288?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-50288 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-50288 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-2022-50288 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-50288 is a medium-severity use after free 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-2022-50288 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-2022-50288/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50288/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-50288
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-50288
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-50288

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50288/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.