# CVE-2022-50531: tipc: fix an information leak in tipc_topsrv_kern_subscr

> An attacker can read uninitialized kernel memory via TIPC socket options, potentially exposing sensitive data.

- **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:** 7 Oct 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-50531, GHSA-rf5c-crcv-v9wg, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-50531

## What is CVE-2022-50531?

CVE-2022-50531 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 7 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:

tipc: fix an information leak in tipc_topsrv_kern_subscr

Use a 8-byte write to initialize sub.usr_handle in
tipc_topsrv_kern_subscr(), otherwise four bytes remain uninitialized
when issuing setsockopt(..., SOL_TIPC, ...).
This resulted in an infoleak reported by KMSAN when the packet was
received:

  =====================================================
  BUG: KMSAN: kernel-infoleak in copyout+0xbc/0x100 lib/iov_iter.c:169
   instrument_copy_to_user ./include/linux/instrumented.h:121
   copyout+0xbc/0x100 lib/iov_iter.c:169
   _copy_to_iter+0x5c0/0x20a0 lib/iov_iter.c:527
   copy_to_iter ./include/linux/uio.h:176
   simple_copy_to_iter+0x64/0xa0 net/core/datagram.c:513
   __skb_datagram_iter+0x123/0xdc0 net/core/datagram.c:419
   skb_copy_datagram_iter+0x58/0x200 net/core/datagram.c:527
   skb_copy_datagram_msg ./include/linux/skbuff.h:3903
   packet_recvmsg+0x521/0x1e70 net/packet/af_packet.c:3469
   ____sys_recvmsg+0x2c4/0x810 net/socket.c:?
   ___sys_recvmsg+0x217/0x840 net/socket.c:2743
   __sys_recvmsg net/socket.c:2773
   __do_sys_recvmsg net/socket.c:2783
   __se_sys_recvmsg net/socket.c:2780
   __x64_sys_recvmsg+0x364/0x540 net/socket.c:2780
   do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50
   do_syscall_64+0x3d/0xb0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80
   entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:120

  ...

  Uninit was stored to memory at:
   tipc_sub_subscribe+0x42d/0xb50 net/tipc/subscr.c:156
   tipc_conn_rcv_sub+0x246/0x620 net/tipc/topsrv.c:375
   tipc_topsrv_kern_subscr+0x2e8/0x400 net/tipc/topsrv.c:579
   tipc_group_create+0x4e7/0x7d0 net/tipc/group.c:190
   tipc_sk_join+0x2a8/0x770 net/tipc/socket.c:3084
   tipc_setsockopt+0xae5/0xe40 net/tipc/socket.c:3201
   __sys_setsockopt+0x87f/0xdc0 net/socket.c:2252
   __do_sys_setsockopt net/socket.c:2263
   __se_sys_setsockopt net/socket.c:2260
   __x64_sys_setsockopt+0xe0/0x160 net/socket.c:2260
   do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50
   do_syscall_64+0x3d/0xb0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80
   entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:120

  Local variable sub created at:
   tipc_topsrv_kern_subscr+0x57/0x400 net/tipc/topsrv.c:562
   tipc_group_create+0x4e7/0x7d0 net/tipc/group.c:190

  Bytes 84-87 of 88 are uninitialized
  Memory access of size 88 starts at ffff88801ed57cd0
  Data copied to user address 0000000020000400
  ...
  =====================================================

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-50531?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-50531?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-50531 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-50531 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-2022-50531 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-50531 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 7 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-2022-50531 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-2022-50531/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50531/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-50531
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-50531
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-50531

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50531/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.