Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a Linux kernel memory leak affecting some MIPS configurations. A local user can cause repeated page-directory allocation and incomplete freeing, gradually reducing available memory. The main business risk is service instability or denial of service on affected MIPS-based systems, not data theft or privilege escalation.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate availability issue. Patch during the next kernel maintenance window, faster for MIPS systems that host shared workloads, customer-facing services, or constrained embedded environments where memory leaks can cause outages quickly.
Technical view
The issue is in MIPS page-table allocation cleanup. After generic pgd_free() was introduced, some MIPS configurations still allocate more than one page for a PGD table. The generic free path releases only one page, leaking the rest. CVSS is 5.5 with local, low-complexity, low-privilege availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on Linux systems using MIPS, especially 64-bit builds with 4KB pages and PGD_ORDER set to allocate multiple PGD pages. The source bundle does not identify affected distributions, cloud images, appliances, or hardware vendors.
Exploitation context
The CVE is not listed as KEV, and the provided sources do not report active exploitation. The described impact requires local ability to trigger process activity that exercises the leaking allocation path. The result is memory exhaustion risk, not confidentiality or integrity compromise.
Researcher notes
Key evidence points to CWE-401 and a MIPS-specific pgd_free() mismatch after commit f9cb654cb550. The provided metadata does not prove remote reachability, public exploitation, or distribution package status. Validate exposure by architecture, kernel lineage, and configuration rather than CVE presence alone.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade to a vendor-supported kernel containing the referenced stable fixes.
- Prioritize internet-facing appliances or embedded systems using MIPS Linux.
- Restrict untrusted local shell or workload access where patching is delayed.
- Monitor vendor advisories for distribution-specific fixed package versions.
Validation and detection
- Inventory systems running Linux on MIPS hardware or MIPS-based appliances.
- Check kernel version and vendor advisories against CVE-2022-49210.
- Review kernel configuration for affected MIPS page-size and virtual-address settings.
- Monitor memory availability trends on suspected affected systems before patching.
Public sources used
- CVE Program
- CVE List V5
- Linux stable commit fa3d44424579972cc7c4fac3d9cf227798ebdfa0
- Linux stable commit d29cda15cab086d82d692de016f7249545d4b6b4
- Linux stable commit 5a8501d34b261906e4c76ec9da679f2cb4d309ed
- Linux stable commit 1bf0d78c8cc3cf615a6e7bf33ada70b73592f0a1
- Linux stable commit 2bc5bab9a763d520937e4f3fe8df51c6a1eceb97
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-401: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2022-49210 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 5.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H1.83.6CISA-ADPVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fa3d44424579972cc7c4fac3d9cf227798ebdfa0CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d29cda15cab086d82d692de016f7249545d4b6b4CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5a8501d34b261906e4c76ec9da679f2cb4d309edCVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1bf0d78c8cc3cf615a6e7bf33ada70b73592f0a1CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2bc5bab9a763d520937e4f3fe8df51c6a1eceb97CVE reference, Linux
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.