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CVE Record

CVE-2022-50449: clk: samsung: Fix memory leak in _samsung_clk_register_pll()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: clk: samsung: Fix memory leak in _samsung_clk_register_pll() If clk_register() fails, @pll->rate_table may have allocated memory by kmemdup(), so it needs to be freed, otherwise will cause memory leak issue, this patch fixes it.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysisunknown

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This is a Linux kernel memory leak in the Samsung clock driver. If a clock registration fails during PLL setup, allocated rate-table memory may not be freed. Sources do not provide CVSS, exploitation evidence, or a practical attack path, so business urgency depends on whether affected Linux kernels with Samsung clock support are present.

Executive priority

Handle through normal kernel maintenance unless asset inventory shows affected Samsung-based systems in sensitive or high-availability roles. There is insufficient public evidence for emergency action, but long-lived embedded kernels should be checked because kernel memory leaks can create operational reliability risk.

Technical view

The defect is in _samsung_clk_register_pll(). A failure return from clk_register() could leave pll->rate_table allocated via kmemdup(), leaking memory. The public record lists Linux versions beginning at 3.12 through 6.2 as affected and links stable backport commits. The bundle does not identify privilege requirements, triggerability, or security impact beyond memory leakage.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely on systems running affected Linux kernel versions with the Samsung clock driver code present and relevant hardware or builds. General-purpose servers without that driver or platform exposure may not be meaningfully exposed, but the provided sources do not define precise configurations.

Exploitation context

No active exploitation is supported by the provided sources. The CVE is not marked KEV, and the bundle provides no exploit reports, proof-of-concept references, or remote attack scenario. Treat exploitability as unproven from this evidence.

Researcher notes

The evidence describes a cleanup bug on clk_register() failure after kmemdup() allocation. Key unanswered questions are whether unprivileged users can influence the failure path, how often the path runs after boot, and whether repeated triggering is feasible. Do not assume broader kernel memory corruption from the supplied text.

Mitigation direction

  • Check vendor or distribution kernel advisories for fixed packages.
  • Upgrade to a kernel containing the linked stable fixes where applicable.
  • Prioritize Samsung SoC or embedded Linux assets using affected kernel lines.
  • Track unsupported affected kernels for replacement or vendor backport review.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux kernel versions across relevant embedded and server assets.
  • Identify builds including the Samsung clock driver path.
  • Confirm whether deployed kernels include one of the stable fix commits.
  • Review distribution changelogs for CVE-2022-50449 or the referenced fix title.
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.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

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CVE-2022-50449 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
LinuxLinux3ff6e0d8d64d594a551b5c4904e4b617bf7eee22, 3ff6e0d8d64d594a551b5c4904e4b617bf7eee22, 3ff6e0d8d64d594a551b5c4904e4b617bf7eee22, 3ff6e0d8d64d594a551b5c4904e4b617bf7eee22, 3ff6e0d8d64d594a551b5c4904e4b617bf7eee22, 3ff6e0d8d64d594a551b5c4904e4b617bf7eee22, 3ff6e0d8d64d594a551b5c4904e4b617bf7eee22, 3ff6e0d8d64d594a551b5c4904e4b617bf7eee22unaffected
LinuxLinux3.12, 0, 4.14.303, 4.19.270, 5.4.229, 5.10.163, 5.15.86, 6.0.16, 6.1.2, 6.2affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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