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CVE Record

CVE-2022-50667: drm/vmwgfx: Fix memory leak in vmw_mksstat_add_ioctl()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/vmwgfx: Fix memory leak in vmw_mksstat_add_ioctl() If the copy of the description string from userspace fails, then the page for the instance descriptor doesn't get freed before returning -EFAULT, which leads to a memleak.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2022-50667 is a Linux kernel vmwgfx driver memory leak. If a userspace string copy fails during a specific ioctl path, allocated memory is not freed. Business impact is most likely local stability degradation or denial of service on systems using the VMware graphics driver, not confirmed remote compromise.

Executive priority

Treat as a scheduled kernel maintenance item unless vmwgfx is broadly deployed on critical shared systems. There is no sourced evidence of active exploitation or remote attack. Prioritize environments where local users or workloads could repeatedly trigger kernel memory leaks and degrade availability.

Technical view

The flaw is in drm/vmwgfx vmw_mksstat_add_ioctl(). On an EFAULT while copying a description string from userspace, the instance descriptor page is not freed. The CVE record lists Linux kernel impact and stable kernel commits resolving the leak. No CVSS score or CWE is provided in the source bundle.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most relevant to Linux systems with the vmwgfx DRM driver available, commonly VMware virtualized graphics environments. The source data does not establish remote reachability. Distribution-specific exposure depends on kernel version, configuration, and whether vendor backports include the stable fixes.

Exploitation context

The provided sources do not report active exploitation, and the CVE is not listed as KEV. The bug appears to require local interaction with the affected driver interface. Practical impact is likely resource exhaustion through repeated triggering, but the sources do not document exploitability details.

Researcher notes

Key unknowns are CVSS, exact affected ranges by distribution, and real-world trigger accessibility. The upstream fix is a cleanup on error handling for a userspace copy failure. Avoid assuming privilege escalation; the provided text only supports memory leak and likely denial-of-service considerations.

Mitigation direction

  • Review vendor kernel advisories for CVE-2022-50667 and vmwgfx fixes.
  • Update affected Linux kernels to vendor-supported fixed packages.
  • Prioritize VMware graphics-enabled Linux guests or hosts exposing vmwgfx.
  • If patching is delayed, assess whether vmwgfx is required in affected systems.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux systems running kernels in the affected range.
  • Check whether the vmwgfx module is present or loaded.
  • Compare installed kernel packages against vendor advisories and stable fix status.
  • Confirm remediation by verifying the updated kernel includes the referenced stable commits.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
6

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-2022-50667 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
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
5Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux7a7a933edd6c3a6d5d64e08093f2d564104cefcd, 7a7a933edd6c3a6d5d64e08093f2d564104cefcd, 7a7a933edd6c3a6d5d64e08093f2d564104cefcd, 7a7a933edd6c3a6d5d64e08093f2d564104cefcdunaffected
LinuxLinux5.15, 0, 5.15.75, 5.19.17, 6.0.3, 6.1affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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