CVE-2022-50486: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ethernet: ti: Fix return type of netcp_ndo_start_xmit() With clang's kernel...

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ethernet: ti: Fix return type of netcp_ndo_start_xmit() 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/net/ethernet/ti/netcp_core.c:1944:21: error: incompatible function pointer types initializing 'netdev_tx_t (*)(struct sk_buff *, struct net_device *)' (aka 'enum netdev_tx (*)(struct sk_buff *, struct net_device *)') with an expression of type 'int (struct sk_buff *, struct net_device *)' [-Werror,-Wincompatible-function-pointer-types-strict] .ndo_start_xmit = netcp_ndo_start_xmit, ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 error generated. ->ndo_start_xmit() in 'struct net_device_ops' expects a return type of 'netdev_tx_t', not 'int'. Adjust the return type of netcp_ndo_start_xmit() 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%

4.4th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 4.0, < 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: Oct 4, 2025
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Analyzed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-50486?

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ethernet: ti: Fix return type of netcp_ndo_start_xmit() 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/net/ethernet/ti/netcp_core.c:1944:21: error: incompatible function pointer types initializing 'netdev_tx_t (*)(struct sk_buff *, struct net_device *)' (aka 'enum netdev_tx (*)(struct sk_buff *, struct net_device *)') with an expression of type 'int (struct sk_buff *, struct net_device *)' [-Werror,-Wincompatible-function-pointer-types-strict] .ndo_start_xmit = netcp_ndo_start_xmit, ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 error generated. ->ndo_start_xmit() in 'struct net_device_ops' expects a return type of 'netdev_tx_t', not 'int'. Adjust the return type of netcp_ndo_start_xmit() to match the prototype's to resolve the warning and CFI failure.

How severe is CVE-2022-50486?

CVE-2022-50486 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-2022-50486?

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.