NULL pointer dereference in Linux

CVE-2022-50530

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: blk-mq: fix null pointer dereference in blk_mq_clear_rq_mapping() Our syzkaller report a null pointer dereference, root cause is following: __blk_mq_alloc_map_and_rqs set->tags[hctx_idx] = blk_mq_alloc_map_and_rqs blk_mq_alloc_map_and_rqs blk_mq_alloc_rqs // failed due to oom alloc_pages_node // set->tags[hctx_idx] is still NULL blk_mq_free_rqs drv_tags = set->tags[hctx_idx]; // null pointer dereference is triggered blk_mq_clear_rq_mapping(drv_tags, ...) This is because commit 63064be150e4 ("blk-mq: Add blk_mq_alloc_map_and_rqs()") merged the two steps: 1) set->tags[hctx_idx] = blk_mq_alloc_rq_map() 2) blk_mq_alloc_rqs(..., set->tags[hctx_idx]) into one step: set->tags[hctx_idx] = blk_mq_alloc_map_and_rqs() Since tags is not initialized yet in this case, fix the problem by checking if tags is NULL pointer in blk_mq_clear_rq_mapping().

Published · last modified .

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.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.001 (2.6th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 3rd percentile — 2.6% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2022-50530: held from 0.001 to 0.001.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.001 · newest: 0.001 · change: +0.000

Affected products

  • Linux — versions 63064be150e4b1ba1e4af594ef5aa81adf21a52d, 5.16, 0
  • Linux Kernel — versions 6.1

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2022-50530?
CVE-2022-50530 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2025-10-07.
How severe is CVE-2022-50530?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.