CVE-2022-49878: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf, verifier: Fix memory leak in array reallocation for stack state If an error...

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf, verifier: Fix memory leak in array reallocation for stack state If an error (NULL) is returned by krealloc(), callers of realloc_array() were setting their allocation pointers to NULL, but on error krealloc() does not touch the original allocation. This would result in a memory resource leak. Instead, free the old allocation on the error handling path. The memory leak information is as follows as also reported by Zhengchao: unreferenced object 0xffff888019801800 (size 256): comm "bpf_repo", pid 6490, jiffies 4294959200 (age 17.170s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ backtrace: [<00000000b211474b>] __kmalloc_node_track_caller+0x45/0xc0 [<0000000086712a0b>] krealloc+0x83/0xd0 [<00000000139aab02>] realloc_array+0x82/0xe2 [<00000000b1ca41d1>] grow_stack_state+0xfb/0x186 [<00000000cd6f36d2>] check_mem_access.cold+0x141/0x1341 [<0000000081780455>] do_check_common+0x5358/0xb350 [<0000000015f6b091>] bpf_check.cold+0xc3/0x29d [<000000002973c690>] bpf_prog_load+0x13db/0x2240 [<00000000028d1644>] __sys_bpf+0x1605/0x4ce0 [<00000000053f29bd>] __x64_sys_bpf+0x75/0xb0 [<0000000056fedaf5>] do_syscall_64+0x35/0x80 [<000000002bd58261>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

5.5/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS Probability

0.16%

5.3th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions	Update
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 5.14, < 5.15.79	—
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 5.16, < 6.0.9	—
Linux	Linux Kernel	6.1	Rc1

References

Timeline

Published: May 1, 2025
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-49878?

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf, verifier: Fix memory leak in array reallocation for stack state If an error (NULL) is returned by krealloc(), callers of realloc_array() were setting their allocation pointers to NULL, but on error krealloc() does not touch the original allocation. This would result in a memory resource leak. Instead, free the old allocation on the error handling path. The memory leak information is as follows as also reported by Zhengchao: unreferenced object 0xffff888019801800 (size 256): comm "bpf_repo", pid 6490, jiffies 4294959200 (age 17.170s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ backtrace: [<00000000b211474b>] __kmalloc_node_track_caller+0x45/0xc0 [<0000000086712a0b>] krealloc+0x83/0xd0 [<00000000139aab02>] realloc_array+0x82/0xe2 [<00000000b1ca41d1>] grow_stack_state+0xfb/0x186 [<00000000cd6f36d2>] check_mem_access.cold+0x141/0x1341 [<0000000081780455>] do_check_common+0x5358/0xb350 [<0000000015f6b091>] bpf_check.cold+0xc3/0x29d [<000000002973c690>] bpf_prog_load+0x13db/0x2240 [<00000000028d1644>] __sys_bpf+0x1605/0x4ce0 [<00000000053f29bd>] __x64_sys_bpf+0x75/0xb0 [<0000000056fedaf5>] do_syscall_64+0x35/0x80 [<000000002bd58261>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd

How severe is CVE-2022-49878?

CVE-2022-49878 has a CVSS score of 5.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.16% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2022-49878?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.