Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2022-49875 is a Linux bpftool flaw where a local user who can run bpftool can cause it to crash by omitting the required FILE argument during pin operations. The cited impact is availability only; no confidentiality or integrity impact is described.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate operational stability issue, not a remote breach indicator. Patch through normal Linux maintenance, prioritizing shared systems, developer hosts, and environments where bpftool supports production eBPF operations.
Technical view
The issue is a CWE-476 NULL pointer dereference in bpftool's pin path. A missing FILE argument reaches mount_bpffs_for_pin and strlen(name). Linux stable fixes add validation in common processing. CVSS 3.1 is 5.5: local, low complexity, low privileges, availability impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is mainly Linux systems using affected bpftool/kernel source versions and allowing local users to run bpftool. The source bundle lists Linux as affected around 5.7 through fixed stable versions, but distribution package status must be checked separately.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not cite public exploitation or KEV listing. Exploitation requires local access and appears to crash the bpftool process path rather than disclose data or change system state. Operational risk is higher where bpftool is used in automation or privileged maintenance workflows.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE record and Linux stable commit references. The described failure is argument-validation related: missing FILE causes NULL dereference in the pin call chain. No source in the bundle supports remote exploitation, privilege escalation, or data exposure.
Mitigation direction
- Apply Linux vendor kernel or bpftool packages containing the referenced stable fixes.
- Prioritize systems where untrusted local users can run bpftool.
- Review automation that depends on bpftool pin operations for crash handling.
- If packages are unavailable, monitor vendor guidance for supported backports.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Linux systems and identify installed kernel and bpftool package versions.
- Check distribution advisories against CVE-2022-49875 and the referenced stable commits.
- Confirm affected hosts receive vendor-fixed packages or equivalent backports.
- Review logs or job failures for bpftool crashes in pin workflows.
Public sources used
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-476: 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-2022-49875 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/8c80b2fca4112d724dde477aed13f7b0510a2792CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6dcdd1b68b7f9333d48d48fc77b75e7f235f6a4aCVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/da5161ba94c5e9182c301dd4f09c94f715c068bdCVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/34de8e6e0e1f66e431abf4123934a2581cb5f133CVE 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.
NULL Pointer Dereference
NULL Pointer Dereference represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.