CVE & CISA-KEV Catalog

CVE-2022-49090

MEDIUM
5.5
CVSS v3
NVD

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: arch/arm64: Fix topology initialization for core scheduling Arm64 systems rely on store_cpu_topology() to call update_siblings_masks() to transfer the toplogy to the various cpu masks. This needs to be done before the call to notify_cpu_starting() which tells the scheduler about each cpu found, otherwise the core scheduling data structures are setup in a way that does not match the actual topology. With smt_mask not setup correctly we bail on `cpumask_weight(smt_mask) == 1` for !leaders in: notify_cpu_starting() cpuhp_invoke_callback_range() sched_cpu_starting() sched_core_cpu_starting() which leads to rq->core not being correctly set for !leader-rq's. Without this change stress-ng (which enables core scheduling in its prctl tests in newer versions -- i.e. with PR_SCHED_CORE support) causes a warning and then a crash (trimmed for legibility): [ 1853.805168] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [ 1853.809784] task_rq(b)->core != rq->core [ 1853.809792] WARNING: CPU: 117 PID: 0 at kernel/sched/fair.c:11102 cfs_prio_less+0x1b4/0x1c4 ... [ 1854.015210] Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000010 ... [ 1854.231256] Call trace: [ 1854.233689] pick_next_task+0x3dc/0x81c [ 1854.237512] __schedule+0x10c/0x4cc [ 1854.240988] schedule_idle+0x34/0x54

How to fix

Remediation Available
linuxDebian
Fixed in:5.17.3-1CVE-2022-49090
Fixed in:5.17.3-1CVE-2022-49090
Fixed in:5.17.3-1CVE-2022-49090

Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.

CVSS v3 Vector

Exploitability

Attack VectorLocal
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged

Impact

ConfidentialityNone
IntegrityNone
AvailabilityHigh

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Exploit Intelligence

0.23%probability of exploitation in 30 days
14thpercentile

Low risk: more likely to be exploited than 14% of all known CVEs.

References

Related Vulnerabilities

Other CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference) vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all

CVESeverityCVSSEPSSExploitedFix
CVE-2023-21758High7.592%-Fix
CVE-2023-21547High7.588%-Fix
CVE-2014-3470Medium4.386%-Fix
CVE-2021-44224High8.282%-Fix
CVE-2016-0742High7.582%-Fix
CVE-2009-1386Medium5.080%-Fix
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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2025-09-23.