# CVE-2022-50453: gpiolib: cdev: fix NULL-pointer dereferences

> A local attacker can crash the Linux kernel by triggering a NULL pointer dereference in the GPIO character device driver during device unbinding.

- **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:** 1 Oct 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-50453, GHSA-c44q-mxrg-grc2, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-50453

## What is CVE-2022-50453?

CVE-2022-50453 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 Oct 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:

gpiolib: cdev: fix NULL-pointer dereferences

There are several places where we can crash the kernel by requesting
lines, unbinding the GPIO device, then calling any of the system calls
relevant to the GPIO character device's annonymous file descriptors:
ioctl(), read(), poll().

While I observed it with the GPIO simulator, it will also happen for any
of the GPIO devices that can be hot-unplugged - for instance any HID GPIO
expander (e.g. CP2112).

This affects both v1 and v2 uAPI.

This fixes it partially by checking if gdev->chip is not NULL but it
doesn't entirely remedy the situation as we still have a race condition
in which another thread can remove the device after the check.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-50453?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-50453?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-50453 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-50453 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-2022-50453 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-50453 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 Oct 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-2022-50453 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-2022-50453/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50453/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-50453
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-50453
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-50453

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50453/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.