CVE-2022-50261: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/sti: Fix return type of sti_{dvo,hda,hdmi}_connector_mode_valid() With clang...

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/sti: Fix return type of sti_{dvo,hda,hdmi}_connector_mode_valid() With clang's kernel control flow integrity (kCFI, CONFIG_CFI_CLANG), indirect call targets are validated against the expected function pointer prototype to make sure the call target is valid to help mitigate ROP attacks. If they are not identical, there is a failure at run time, which manifests as either a kernel panic or thread getting killed. A proposed warning in clang aims to catch these at compile time, which reveals: drivers/gpu/drm/sti/sti_hda.c:637:16: error: incompatible function pointer types initializing 'enum drm_mode_status (*)(struct drm_connector *, struct drm_display_mode *)' with an expression of type 'int (struct drm_connector *, struct drm_display_mode *)' [-Werror,-Wincompatible-function-pointer-types-strict] .mode_valid = sti_hda_connector_mode_valid, ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ drivers/gpu/drm/sti/sti_dvo.c:376:16: error: incompatible function pointer types initializing 'enum drm_mode_status (*)(struct drm_connector *, struct drm_display_mode *)' with an expression of type 'int (struct drm_connector *, struct drm_display_mode *)' [-Werror,-Wincompatible-function-pointer-types-strict] .mode_valid = sti_dvo_connector_mode_valid, ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ drivers/gpu/drm/sti/sti_hdmi.c:1035:16: error: incompatible function pointer types initializing 'enum drm_mode_status (*)(struct drm_connector *, struct drm_display_mode *)' with an expression of type 'int (struct drm_connector *, struct drm_display_mode *)' [-Werror,-Wincompatible-function-pointer-types-strict] .mode_valid = sti_hdmi_connector_mode_valid, ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ->mode_valid() in 'struct drm_connector_helper_funcs' expects a return type of 'enum drm_mode_status', not 'int'. Adjust the return type of sti_{dvo,hda,hdmi}_connector_mode_valid() to match the prototype's to resolve the warning and CFI failure.

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

0.15%

4.5th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Linux	Linux Kernel	< 4.9.337
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 4.10, < 4.14.303
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 4.15, < 4.19.270
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 4.20, < 5.4.229
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 5.5, < 5.10.163
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 5.11, < 5.15.86
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 5.16, < 6.0.16
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 6.1, < 6.1.2

References

Timeline

Published: Sep 15, 2025
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Analyzed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-50261?

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/sti: Fix return type of sti_{dvo,hda,hdmi}_connector_mode_valid() With clang's kernel control flow integrity (kCFI, CONFIG_CFI_CLANG), indirect call targets are validated against the expected function pointer prototype to make sure the call target is valid to help mitigate ROP attacks. If they are not identical, there is a failure at run time, which manifests as either a kernel panic or thread getting killed. A proposed warning in clang aims to catch these at compile time, which reveals: drivers/gpu/drm/sti/sti_hda.c:637:16: error: incompatible function pointer types initializing 'enum drm_mode_status (*)(struct drm_connector *, struct drm_display_mode *)' with an expression of type 'int (struct drm_connector *, struct drm_display_mode *)' [-Werror,-Wincompatible-function-pointer-types-strict] .mode_valid = sti_hda_connector_mode_valid, ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ drivers/gpu/drm/sti/sti_dvo.c:376:16: error: incompatible function pointer types initializing 'enum drm_mode_status (*)(struct drm_connector *, struct drm_display_mode *)' with an expression of type 'int (struct drm_connector *, struct drm_display_mode *)' [-Werror,-Wincompatible-function-pointer-types-strict] .mode_valid = sti_dvo_connector_mode_valid, ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ drivers/gpu/drm/sti/sti_hdmi.c:1035:16: error: incompatible function pointer types initializing 'enum drm_mode_status (*)(struct drm_connector *, struct drm_display_mode *)' with an expression of type 'int (struct drm_connector *, struct drm_display_mode *)' [-Werror,-Wincompatible-function-pointer-types-strict] .mode_valid = sti_hdmi_connector_mode_valid, ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ->mode_valid() in 'struct drm_connector_helper_funcs' expects a return type of 'enum drm_mode_status', not 'int'. Adjust the return type of sti_{dvo,hda,hdmi}_connector_mode_valid() to match the prototype's to resolve the warning and CFI failure.

How severe is CVE-2022-50261?

CVE-2022-50261 has a CVSS score of 5.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.15% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2022-50261?

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.