# CVE-2022-50780: net: fix UAF issue in nfqnl_nf_hook_drop() when ops_init() failed

> A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's netfilter subsystem allows local attackers to cause a denial of service or potentially execute code.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 24 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-50780, GHSA-mpc6-67r3-hw66, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-50780

## What is CVE-2022-50780?

CVE-2022-50780 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 Dec 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:

net: fix UAF issue in nfqnl_nf_hook_drop() when ops_init() failed

When the ops_init() interface is invoked to initialize the net, but
ops->init() fails, data is released. However, the ptr pointer in
net->gen is invalid. In this case, when nfqnl_nf_hook_drop() is invoked
to release the net, invalid address access occurs.

The process is as follows:
setup_net()
	ops_init()
		data = kzalloc(...)   ---> alloc "data"
		net_assign_generic()  ---> assign "date" to ptr in net->gen
		...
		ops->init()           ---> failed
		...
		kfree(data);          ---> ptr in net->gen is invalid
	...
	ops_exit_list()
		...
		nfqnl_nf_hook_drop()
			*q = nfnl_queue_pernet(net) ---> q is invalid

The following is the Call Trace information:
BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in nfqnl_nf_hook_drop+0x264/0x280
Read of size 8 at addr ffff88810396b240 by task ip/15855
Call Trace:
<TASK>
dump_stack_lvl+0x8e/0xd1
print_report+0x155/0x454
kasan_report+0xba/0x1f0
nfqnl_nf_hook_drop+0x264/0x280
nf_queue_nf_hook_drop+0x8b/0x1b0
__nf_unregister_net_hook+0x1ae/0x5a0
nf_unregister_net_hooks+0xde/0x130
ops_exit_list+0xb0/0x170
setup_net+0x7ac/0xbd0
copy_net_ns+0x2e6/0x6b0
create_new_namespaces+0x382/0xa50
unshare_nsproxy_namespaces+0xa6/0x1c0
ksys_unshare+0x3a4/0x7e0
__x64_sys_unshare+0x2d/0x40
do_syscall_64+0x35/0x80
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x46/0xb0
</TASK>

Allocated by task 15855:
kasan_save_stack+0x1e/0x40
kasan_set_track+0x21/0x30
__kasan_kmalloc+0xa1/0xb0
__kmalloc+0x49/0xb0
ops_init+0xe7/0x410
setup_net+0x5aa/0xbd0
copy_net_ns+0x2e6/0x6b0
create_new_namespaces+0x382/0xa50
unshare_nsproxy_namespaces+0xa6/0x1c0
ksys_unshare+0x3a4/0x7e0
__x64_sys_unshare+0x2d/0x40
do_syscall_64+0x35/0x80
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x46/0xb0

Freed by task 15855:
kasan_save_stack+0x1e/0x40
kasan_set_track+0x21/0x30
kasan_save_free_info+0x2a/0x40
____kasan_slab_free+0x155/0x1b0
slab_free_freelist_hook+0x11b/0x220
__kmem_cache_free+0xa4/0x360
ops_init+0xb9/0x410
setup_net+0x5aa/0xbd0
copy_net_ns+0x2e6/0x6b0
create_new_namespaces+0x382/0xa50
unshare_nsproxy_namespaces+0xa6/0x1c0
ksys_unshare+0x3a4/0x7e0
__x64_sys_unshare+0x2d/0x40
do_syscall_64+0x35/0x80
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x46/0xb0

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-50780?


## How do I fix CVE-2022-50780?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-50780 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-50780 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-50780 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-50780 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 Dec 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-2022-50780 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2022-50780/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50780/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-50780
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-50780
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-50780

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50780/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.