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CVE Record

CVE-2022-49981: HID: hidraw: fix memory leak in hidraw_release()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: HID: hidraw: fix memory leak in hidraw_release() Free the buffered reports before deleting the list entry. BUG: memory leak unreferenced object 0xffff88810e72f180 (size 32): comm "softirq", pid 0, jiffies 4294945143 (age 16.080s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 64 f3 c6 6a d1 88 07 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 d..j............ 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ backtrace: [<ffffffff814ac6c3>] kmemdup+0x23/0x50 mm/util.c:128 [<ffffffff8357c1d2>] kmemdup include/linux/fortify-string.h:440 [inline] [<ffffffff8357c1d2>] hidraw_report_event+0xa2/0x150 drivers/hid/hidraw.c:521 [<ffffffff8356ddad>] hid_report_raw_event+0x27d/0x740 drivers/hid/hid-core.c:1992 [<ffffffff8356e41e>] hid_input_report+0x1ae/0x270 drivers/hid/hid-core.c:2065 [<ffffffff835f0d3f>] hid_irq_in+0x1ff/0x250 drivers/hid/usbhid/hid-core.c:284 [<ffffffff82d3c7f9>] __usb_hcd_giveback_urb+0xf9/0x230 drivers/usb/core/hcd.c:1670 [<ffffffff82d3cc26>] usb_hcd_giveback_urb+0x1b6/0x1d0 drivers/usb/core/hcd.c:1747 [<ffffffff82ef1e14>] dummy_timer+0x8e4/0x14c0 drivers/usb/gadget/udc/dummy_hcd.c:1988 [<ffffffff812f50a8>] call_timer_fn+0x38/0x200 kernel/time/timer.c:1474 [<ffffffff812f5586>] expire_timers kernel/time/timer.c:1519 [inline] [<ffffffff812f5586>] __run_timers.part.0+0x316/0x430 kernel/time/timer.c:1790 [<ffffffff812f56e4>] __run_timers kernel/time/timer.c:1768 [inline] [<ffffffff812f56e4>] run_timer_softirq+0x44/0x90 kernel/time/timer.c:1803 [<ffffffff848000e6>] __do_softirq+0xe6/0x2ea kernel/softirq.c:571 [<ffffffff81246db0>] invoke_softirq kernel/softirq.c:445 [inline] [<ffffffff81246db0>] __irq_exit_rcu kernel/softirq.c:650 [inline] [<ffffffff81246db0>] irq_exit_rcu+0xc0/0x110 kernel/softirq.c:662 [<ffffffff84574f02>] sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt+0xa2/0xd0 arch/x86/kernel/apic/apic.c:1106 [<ffffffff84600c8b>] asm_sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt+0x1b/0x20 arch/x86/include/asm/idtentry.h:649 [<ffffffff8458a070>] native_safe_halt arch/x86/include/asm/irqflags.h:51 [inline] [<ffffffff8458a070>] arch_safe_halt arch/x86/include/asm/irqflags.h:89 [inline] [<ffffffff8458a070>] acpi_safe_halt drivers/acpi/processor_idle.c:111 [inline] [<ffffffff8458a070>] acpi_idle_do_entry+0xc0/0xd0 drivers/acpi/processor_idle.c:554

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysisunknown

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2022-49981 is a Linux kernel memory leak in the hidraw HID device interface. Under affected kernel code, buffered HID reports were not freed during release. The public record does not provide CVSS, severity, or exploitation evidence, so business urgency should be driven by kernel exposure and vendor patch availability.

Executive priority

Treat this as a routine kernel hygiene issue unless affected systems have untrusted HID exposure or memory-constrained roles. There is no cited active exploitation, but kernel memory leaks can still affect availability over time.

Technical view

The flaw is in Linux drivers/hid/hidraw.c, where hidraw_release() deleted a list entry before freeing buffered reports. The source describes leaked kmemdup allocations from hidraw_report_event() during HID report handling. Fix references are Linux stable commits that free buffered reports before list deletion.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most relevant to Linux systems running affected kernel builds with hidraw/HID device paths in use, including USB or virtual HID workflows. Distro kernels may have backported fixes, so raw version strings alone are insufficient.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing, public exploitation, exploit availability, or a remote attack path. The described impact is memory leakage, which could matter most on systems where untrusted HID interaction or repeated HID report activity is possible.

Researcher notes

Evidence is limited to the CVE record and Linux stable fix references. No CVSS, CWE, exploit status, or vendor-specific package matrix is provided. Avoid assuming distribution impact without checking backports against the listed upstream commits.

Mitigation direction

  • Check Linux vendor guidance for your distribution and kernel stream.
  • Update to a kernel package containing the referenced stable fix.
  • Limit untrusted physical or virtual HID device access where feasible.
  • Restrict unnecessary user or service access to hidraw devices.
  • Monitor affected systems for abnormal kernel memory pressure until patched.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux kernel versions across servers, workstations, and embedded systems.
  • Map systems that expose or depend on hidraw/HID interfaces.
  • Confirm whether distribution kernels include a backported fix.
  • Review kernel changelogs for the referenced hidraw_release memory leak fix.
  • Prioritize validation on systems accepting untrusted peripherals or USB gadget input.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
10

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

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.

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CVE-2022-49981 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

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.

0CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
0ADP providers
9Source links

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux86166b7bcda0bcb53525114fa1c87ac432be478e, 86166b7bcda0bcb53525114fa1c87ac432be478e, 86166b7bcda0bcb53525114fa1c87ac432be478e, 86166b7bcda0bcb53525114fa1c87ac432be478e, 86166b7bcda0bcb53525114fa1c87ac432be478e, 86166b7bcda0bcb53525114fa1c87ac432be478e, 86166b7bcda0bcb53525114fa1c87ac432be478e, 86166b7bcda0bcb53525114fa1c87ac432be478eunaffected
LinuxLinux2.6.24, 0, 4.9.327, 4.14.292, 4.19.257, 5.4.212, 5.10.141, 5.15.65, 5.19.7, 6.0affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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