# CVE-2022-50295: io_uring/msg_ring: Fix NULL pointer dereference in io_msg_send_fd()

> A local attacker can trigger a kernel crash via a NULL pointer dereference in the io_uring subsystem, causing a 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:** 15 Sep 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-50295, GHSA-pwv6-q4qx-8vf8, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-50295

## What is CVE-2022-50295?

CVE-2022-50295 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:

io_uring/msg_ring: Fix NULL pointer dereference in io_msg_send_fd()

Syzkaller produced the below call trace:

 BUG: KASAN: null-ptr-deref in io_msg_ring+0x3cb/0x9f0
 Write of size 8 at addr 0000000000000070 by task repro/16399

 CPU: 0 PID: 16399 Comm: repro Not tainted 6.1.0-rc1 #28
 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.11.0-2.el7
 Call Trace:
  <TASK>
  dump_stack_lvl+0xcd/0x134
  ? io_msg_ring+0x3cb/0x9f0
  kasan_report+0xbc/0xf0
  ? io_msg_ring+0x3cb/0x9f0
  kasan_check_range+0x140/0x190
  io_msg_ring+0x3cb/0x9f0
  ? io_msg_ring_prep+0x300/0x300
  io_issue_sqe+0x698/0xca0
  io_submit_sqes+0x92f/0x1c30
  __do_sys_io_uring_enter+0xae4/0x24b0
....
 RIP: 0033:0x7f2eaf8f8289
 RSP: 002b:00007fff40939718 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 00000000000001aa
 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 00007f2eaf8f8289
 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000006f71 RDI: 0000000000000004
 RBP: 00007fff409397a0 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000039
 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 00000000004006d0
 R13: 00007fff40939880 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: 0000000000000000
  </TASK>
 Kernel panic - not syncing: panic_on_warn set ...

We don't have a NULL check on file_ptr in io_msg_send_fd() function,
so when file_ptr is NUL src_file is also NULL and get_file()
dereferences a NULL pointer and leads to above crash.

Add a NULL check to fix this issue.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-50295?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-50295?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-50295 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-50295 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-2022-50295 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-50295 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-2022-50295 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-2022-50295/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50295/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-50295
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-50295
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-50295

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50295/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.