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CVE Record

CVE-2022-50724: regulator: core: fix resource leak in regulator_register()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: regulator: core: fix resource leak in regulator_register() I got some resource leak reports while doing fault injection test: OF: ERROR: memory leak, expected refcount 1 instead of 100, of_node_get()/of_node_put() unbalanced - destroy cset entry: attach overlay node /i2c/pmic@64/regulators/buck1 unreferenced object 0xffff88810deea000 (size 512): comm "490-i2c-rt5190a", pid 253, jiffies 4294859840 (age 5061.046s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 00 00 00 ad 4e ad de ff ff ff ff 00 00 00 00 .....N.......... ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff a0 1e 00 a1 ff ff ff ff ................ backtrace: [<00000000d78541e2>] kmalloc_trace+0x21/0x110 [<00000000b343d153>] device_private_init+0x32/0xd0 [<00000000be1f0c70>] device_add+0xb2d/0x1030 [<00000000e3e6344d>] regulator_register+0xaf2/0x12a0 [<00000000e2f5e754>] devm_regulator_register+0x57/0xb0 [<000000008b898197>] rt5190a_probe+0x52a/0x861 [rt5190a_regulator] unreferenced object 0xffff88810b617b80 (size 32): comm "490-i2c-rt5190a", pid 253, jiffies 4294859904 (age 5060.983s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 72 65 67 75 6c 61 74 6f 72 2e 32 38 36 38 2d 53 regulator.2868-S 55 50 50 4c 59 00 ff ff 29 00 00 00 2b 00 00 00 UPPLY...)...+... backtrace: [<000000009da9280d>] __kmalloc_node_track_caller+0x44/0x1b0 [<0000000025c6a4e5>] kstrdup+0x3a/0x70 [<00000000790efb69>] create_regulator+0xc0/0x4e0 [<0000000005ed203a>] regulator_resolve_supply+0x2d4/0x440 [<0000000045796214>] regulator_register+0x10b3/0x12a0 [<00000000e2f5e754>] devm_regulator_register+0x57/0xb0 [<000000008b898197>] rt5190a_probe+0x52a/0x861 [rt5190a_regulator] After calling regulator_resolve_supply(), the 'rdev->supply' is set by set_supply(), after this set, in the error path, the resources need be released, so call regulator_put() to avoid the leaks.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2022-50724 is a Linux kernel resource leak in the regulator subsystem. Under certain regulator registration error paths, kernel resources are not released. The available sources do not show active exploitation or a CVSS score. Business urgency is highest for embedded or hardware-facing Linux systems where regulator drivers are used and uptime is critical.

Executive priority

Treat as routine-to-prioritized kernel maintenance. Escalate for embedded, appliance, industrial, or uptime-sensitive systems. There is no provided evidence of active exploitation, but unpatched leaks can degrade reliability in affected hardware paths.

Technical view

The flaw is in regulator_register(). After regulator_resolve_supply() sets rdev->supply, an error path failed to call regulator_put(), leaving references and allocations unreleased. Fault-injection reports showed OF node refcount imbalance and unreferenced kernel objects. Upstream stable commits add cleanup to avoid the leak.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely on Linux systems using affected kernel versions and regulator drivers, especially embedded platforms, PMIC/I2C regulator hardware, or device-tree based systems. Distribution kernels may differ because vendors backport fixes.

Exploitation context

The sources describe discovery through fault injection, not exploitation in the wild. CISA KEV status is false in the provided bundle. No source indicates remote exploitability, privilege requirements, or a public exploit.

Researcher notes

Affected version data is limited to the CVE bundle and upstream stable commits. The practical trigger depends on regulator registration failure conditions and driver usage. No CVSS, CWE, or exploitability assessment is provided in the sources.

Mitigation direction

  • Update to a vendor kernel containing the upstream stable fix.
  • Prioritize embedded and hardware-control Linux fleets using regulator drivers.
  • Check distribution advisories for backported fixes before relying on version numbers.
  • If unable to patch, monitor for kernel memory leak symptoms and regulator driver errors.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux kernel versions across affected systems.
  • Check whether the relevant stable patch commit is present in the kernel source or package changelog.
  • Review vendor advisories for CVE-2022-50724 coverage.
  • On test systems, monitor logs for regulator registration failures and memory leak reports.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
8

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-2022-50724 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
7Source 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
LinuxLinux0120ec32a7774b5061ced1a9a7ff833edd8b4cb6, aea6cb99703e17019e025aa71643b4d3e0a24413, aea6cb99703e17019e025aa71643b4d3e0a24413, aea6cb99703e17019e025aa71643b4d3e0a24413, aea6cb99703e17019e025aa71643b4d3e0a24413, aea6cb99703e17019e025aa71643b4d3e0a24413, 1d58235c062309d51660fd04182d7a8ab6a48ad6, 167c3b1f9793a1fb23e75e693f078420850306d4, 3fc99e38fdbf6b693693f861aa55a50a74c2d202, 96c6b5d5775637b3095ef934f871044811fd4db7, f58ce31b05b4ca0c200a5cbe4724efe279405095unaffected
LinuxLinux5.10, 0, 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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