NULL pointer dereference in Linux

CVE-2022-50425

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/fpu: Fix copy_xstate_to_uabi() to copy init states correctly When an extended state component is not present in fpstate, but in init state, the function copies from init_fpstate via copy_feature(). But, dynamic states are not present in init_fpstate because of all-zeros init states. Then retrieving them from init_fpstate will explode like this: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 ... RIP: 0010:memcpy_erms+0x6/0x10 ? __copy_xstate_to_uabi_buf+0x381/0x870 fpu_copy_guest_fpstate_to_uabi+0x28/0x80 kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl+0x14c/0x1460 [kvm] ? __this_cpu_preempt_check+0x13/0x20 ? vmx_vcpu_put+0x2e/0x260 [kvm_intel] kvm_vcpu_ioctl+0xea/0x6b0 [kvm] ? kvm_vcpu_ioctl+0xea/0x6b0 [kvm] ? __fget_light+0xd4/0x130 __x64_sys_ioctl+0xe3/0x910 ? debug_smp_processor_id+0x17/0x20 ? fpregs_assert_state_consistent+0x27/0x50 do_syscall_64+0x3f/0x90 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd Adjust the 'mask' to zero out the userspace buffer for the features that are not available both from fpstate and from init_fpstate. The dynamic features depend on the compacted XSAVE format. Ensure it is enabled before reading XCOMP_BV in init_fpstate.

EPSS: 0.001 (2.8th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2022-50425?
CVE-2022-50425 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2025-10-01.
How severe is CVE-2022-50425?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.