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CVE Record

CVE-2022-50054: iavf: Fix NULL pointer dereference in iavf_get_link_ksettings

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: iavf: Fix NULL pointer dereference in iavf_get_link_ksettings Fix possible NULL pointer dereference, due to freeing of adapter->vf_res in iavf_init_get_resources. Previous commit introduced a regression, where receiving IAVF_ERR_ADMIN_QUEUE_NO_WORK from iavf_get_vf_config would free adapter->vf_res. However, netdev is still registered, so ethtool_ops can be called. Calling iavf_get_link_ksettings with no vf_res, will result with: [ 9385.242676] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000008 [ 9385.242683] #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode [ 9385.242686] #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page [ 9385.242690] PGD 0 P4D 0 [ 9385.242696] Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP DEBUG_PAGEALLOC PTI [ 9385.242701] CPU: 6 PID: 3217 Comm: pmdalinux Kdump: loaded Tainted: G S E 5.18.0-04958-ga54ce3703613-dirty #1 [ 9385.242708] Hardware name: Dell Inc. PowerEdge R730/0WCJNT, BIOS 2.11.0 11/02/2019 [ 9385.242710] RIP: 0010:iavf_get_link_ksettings+0x29/0xd0 [iavf] [ 9385.242745] Code: 00 0f 1f 44 00 00 b8 01 ef ff ff 48 c7 46 30 00 00 00 00 48 c7 46 38 00 00 00 00 c6 46 0b 00 66 89 46 08 48 8b 87 68 0e 00 00 <f6> 40 08 80 75 50 8b 87 5c 0e 00 00 83 f8 08 74 7a 76 1d 83 f8 20 [ 9385.242749] RSP: 0018:ffffc0560ec7fbd0 EFLAGS: 00010246 [ 9385.242755] RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffffc0560ec7fc08 RCX: 0000000000000000 [ 9385.242759] RDX: ffffffffc0ad4550 RSI: ffffc0560ec7fc08 RDI: ffffa0fc66674000 [ 9385.242762] RBP: 00007ffd1fb2bf50 R08: b6a2d54b892363ee R09: ffffa101dc14fb00 [ 9385.242765] R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000004 R12: ffffa0fc66674000 [ 9385.242768] R13: 0000000000000000 R14: ffffa0fc66674000 R15: 00000000ffffffa1 [ 9385.242771] FS: 00007f93711a2980(0000) GS:ffffa0fad72c0000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [ 9385.242775] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [ 9385.242778] CR2: 0000000000000008 CR3: 0000000a8e61c003 CR4: 00000000003706e0 [ 9385.242781] DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 [ 9385.242784] DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 [ 9385.242787] Call Trace: [ 9385.242791] <TASK> [ 9385.242793] ethtool_get_settings+0x71/0x1a0 [ 9385.242814] __dev_ethtool+0x426/0x2f40 [ 9385.242823] ? slab_post_alloc_hook+0x4f/0x280 [ 9385.242836] ? kmem_cache_alloc_trace+0x15d/0x2f0 [ 9385.242841] ? dev_ethtool+0x59/0x170 [ 9385.242848] dev_ethtool+0xa7/0x170 [ 9385.242856] dev_ioctl+0xc3/0x520 [ 9385.242866] sock_do_ioctl+0xa0/0xe0 [ 9385.242877] sock_ioctl+0x22f/0x320 [ 9385.242885] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x84/0xc0 [ 9385.242896] do_syscall_64+0x3a/0x80 [ 9385.242904] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x46/0xb0 [ 9385.242918] RIP: 0033:0x7f93702396db [ 9385.242923] Code: 73 01 c3 48 8b 0d ad 57 38 00 f7 d8 64 89 01 48 83 c8 ff c3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 90 f3 0f 1e fa b8 10 00 00 00 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 8b 0d 7d 57 38 00 f7 d8 64 89 01 48 [ 9385.242927] RSP: 002b:00007ffd1fb2bf18 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000010 [ 9385.242932] RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 000055671b1d2fe0 RCX: 00007f93702396db [ 9385.242935] RDX: 00007ffd1fb2bf20 RSI: 0000000000008946 RDI: 0000000000000007 [ 9385.242937] RBP: 00007ffd1fb2bf20 R08: 0000000000000003 R09: 0030763066307330 [ 9385.242940] R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 00007ffd1fb2bf80 [ 9385.242942] R13: 0000000000000007 R14: 0000556719f6de90 R15: 00007ffd1fb2c1b0 [ 9385.242948] </TASK> [ 9385.242949] Modules linked in: iavf(E) xt_CHECKSUM xt_MASQUERADE xt_conntrack ipt_REJECT nft_compat nf_nat_tftp nft_objref nf_conntrack_tftp bridge stp llc nft_fib_inet nft_fib_ipv4 nft_fib_ipv6 nft_fib nft_reject_inet nf_reject_ipv4 nf_reject_ipv6 nft_reject nft_ct nft_chain_nat nf_nat nf_conntrack nf_defrag_ipv6 nf_defrag_ipv4 ip_set nf_tables rfkill nfnetlink vfat fat irdma ib_uverbs ib_core intel_rapl_msr intel_rapl_common sb_edac x86_pkg_temp_thermal intel_powerclamp coretem ---truncated---

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2022-50054 is a Linux kernel iavf driver bug that can crash the kernel when link settings are queried after a failed resource initialization path. The business impact is primarily availability risk on affected Linux systems using this driver, not confirmed data theft or remote compromise.

Executive priority

Treat as a targeted availability issue. Patch during normal infrastructure maintenance, escalating for hosts where an iavf-driven network crash could affect critical services or clustered workloads.

Technical view

The bug is a NULL pointer dereference in iavf_get_link_ksettings. A regression allowed adapter->vf_res to be freed while the netdev remained registered, so ethtool operations could later dereference missing VF resource data and trigger a kernel oops.

Likely exposure

Exposure appears limited to Linux systems using the iavf driver, commonly tied to virtual function networking. The source lists affected Linux kernel versions including 5.17, 5.19.4, and 6.0, but exact downstream vendor package ranges are not provided.

Exploitation context

The provided sources do not show active exploitation, and KEV is false. The crash path is associated with ethtool link-setting queries after a specific failed iavf resource initialization condition. No public exploit steps are cited in the bundle.

Researcher notes

Evidence supports a kernel NULL dereference and denial-of-service style impact. CVSS, CWE, and downstream package mapping are missing from the bundle, so severity and exact exposure should be confirmed through kernel vendor advisories.

Mitigation direction

  • Check Linux distribution or kernel vendor advisories for fixed kernel packages.
  • Prioritize updates on systems using the iavf driver in production networking paths.
  • Review the referenced upstream stable commits when validating custom kernels.
  • Limit unnecessary local access to network diagnostic tooling where practical.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory systems with the iavf kernel module loaded or packaged.
  • Confirm running kernel versions against vendor-fixed releases or referenced stable commits.
  • Review kernel logs for iavf NULL dereference or ethtool-related oops entries.
  • Check whether affected hosts use virtual function networking in critical workloads.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
4

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

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CVE-2022-50054 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
3Source 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

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Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux209f2f9c718138ddbd8586e5a1463bd079a17241, 209f2f9c718138ddbd8586e5a1463bd079a17241unaffected
LinuxLinux5.17, 0, 5.19.4, 6.0affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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