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CVE Record

CVE-2022-50817: net: hsr: avoid possible NULL deref in skb_clone()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: hsr: avoid possible NULL deref in skb_clone() syzbot got a crash [1] in skb_clone(), caused by a bug in hsr_get_untagged_frame(). When/if create_stripped_skb_hsr() returns NULL, we must not attempt to call skb_clone(). While we are at it, replace a WARN_ONCE() by netdev_warn_once(). [1] general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0xdffffc000000000f: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP KASAN KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000078-0x000000000000007f] CPU: 1 PID: 754 Comm: syz-executor.0 Not tainted 6.0.0-syzkaller-02734-g0326074ff465 #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 09/22/2022 RIP: 0010:skb_clone+0x108/0x3c0 net/core/skbuff.c:1641 Code: 93 02 00 00 49 83 7c 24 28 00 0f 85 e9 00 00 00 e8 5d 4a 29 fa 4c 8d 75 7e 48 b8 00 00 00 00 00 fc ff df 4c 89 f2 48 c1 ea 03 <0f> b6 04 02 4c 89 f2 83 e2 07 38 d0 7f 08 84 c0 0f 85 9e 01 00 00 RSP: 0018:ffffc90003ccf4e0 EFLAGS: 00010207 RAX: dffffc0000000000 RBX: ffffc90003ccf5f8 RCX: ffffc9000c24b000 RDX: 000000000000000f RSI: ffffffff8751cb13 RDI: 0000000000000000 RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 00000000000000f0 R09: 0000000000000140 R10: fffffbfff181d972 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: ffff888161fc3640 R13: 0000000000000a20 R14: 000000000000007e R15: ffffffff8dc5f620 FS: 00007feb621e4700(0000) GS:ffff8880b9b00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00007feb621e3ff8 CR3: 00000001643a9000 CR4: 00000000003506e0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: <TASK> hsr_get_untagged_frame+0x4e/0x610 net/hsr/hsr_forward.c:164 hsr_forward_do net/hsr/hsr_forward.c:461 [inline] hsr_forward_skb+0xcca/0x1d50 net/hsr/hsr_forward.c:623 hsr_handle_frame+0x588/0x7c0 net/hsr/hsr_slave.c:69 __netif_receive_skb_core+0x9fe/0x38f0 net/core/dev.c:5379 __netif_receive_skb_one_core+0xae/0x180 net/core/dev.c:5483 __netif_receive_skb+0x1f/0x1c0 net/core/dev.c:5599 netif_receive_skb_internal net/core/dev.c:5685 [inline] netif_receive_skb+0x12f/0x8d0 net/core/dev.c:5744 tun_rx_batched+0x4ab/0x7a0 drivers/net/tun.c:1544 tun_get_user+0x2686/0x3a00 drivers/net/tun.c:1995 tun_chr_write_iter+0xdb/0x200 drivers/net/tun.c:2025 call_write_iter include/linux/fs.h:2187 [inline] new_sync_write fs/read_write.c:491 [inline] vfs_write+0x9e9/0xdd0 fs/read_write.c:584 ksys_write+0x127/0x250 fs/read_write.c:637 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline] do_syscall_64+0x35/0xb0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2022-50817 is a Linux kernel flaw in the HSR networking component. Under certain error conditions, the kernel may dereference a NULL pointer and crash. The public record describes a syzkaller-discovered crash, not data theft or privilege escalation. Business impact is primarily availability risk for systems using affected kernels and HSR-related networking paths.

Executive priority

Treat as a targeted availability issue, not an emergency internet-wide compromise based on current evidence. Patch through normal kernel maintenance, faster for systems using HSR networking or requiring high uptime.

Technical view

The issue is in net/hsr/hsr_forward.c. If create_stripped_skb_hsr() returns NULL, hsr_get_untagged_frame() could still call skb_clone(), causing a NULL pointer dereference. The fix prevents skb_clone() from being called on NULL and adjusts warning behavior. The CVE record references Linux stable commits for remediation.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most relevant to Linux systems running affected kernel versions with HSR networking code reachable. The source bundle does not identify specific distributions, default configurations, or remote exploitability. Systems not using HSR are likely lower risk, but kernel version and configuration should be verified.

Exploitation context

The crash was reported by syzbot with KASAN during kernel fuzzing. The provided sources do not show public exploitation, weaponized proof-of-concept, or CISA KEV listing. The demonstrated impact is kernel crash/denial of service, based on the included trace.

Researcher notes

Severity and CVSS are not provided in the source bundle. Affected-version data appears kernel-stable oriented and should be mapped to distribution kernels carefully. Do not infer active exploitation; KEV is false and no cited source claims exploitation in the wild.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply vendor kernel updates that include the referenced Linux stable fixes.
  • Prioritize systems using HSR or specialized redundancy networking.
  • If no vendor advisory exists, track the upstream stable commits for backport status.
  • Reboot systems after kernel update where required by your platform.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux kernel versions across servers, appliances, and embedded systems.
  • Check whether HSR networking support is enabled or in use.
  • Confirm installed kernels include the relevant stable fix or vendor backport.
  • Review kernel crash logs for NULL dereference traces involving skb_clone or hsr_forward.
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

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-2022-50817 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
LinuxLinuxf266a683a4804dc499efc6c2206ef68efed029d0, f266a683a4804dc499efc6c2206ef68efed029d0, f266a683a4804dc499efc6c2206ef68efed029d0, f266a683a4804dc499efc6c2206ef68efed029d0unaffected
LinuxLinux3.17, 0, 5.10.152, 5.15.76, 6.0.6, 6.1affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.