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NVD / CVE Program· CNA Linux

CVE-2022-50077: apparmor: fix reference count leak in aa_pivotroot()

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 22/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.19% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: Linux Linux 11c3627ec6b56c1525013f336f41b79a983b4d46, 2ceeb3296e9dde1d5772348046affcefdea605e2, 3ca40ad7afae144169a43988ef1a3f16182faf0a.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to Linux Linux 11c3627ec6b56c1525013f336f41b79a983b4d46, 2ceeb3296e9dde1d5772348046affcefdea605e2, 3ca40ad7afae144169a43988ef1a3f16182faf0a or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: apparmor: fix reference count leak in aa_pivotroot() The aa_pivotroot() function has a reference counting bug in a specific path. When aa_replace_current_label() returns on success, the function forgets to decrement the reference count of “target”, which is increased earlier by build_pivotroot(), causing a reference leak. Fix it by decreasing the refcount of “target” in that path.

MediumCVSS 5.5 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Jun 18, 2025
Updated
Jun 17, 2026
EPSS
0.1% · 9th percentile
CWE
—

Report tools

JSON

Action score

22

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
22 / 40 · 5.5 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.1%

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

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When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
linuxlinux kernel

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • linux linux kernel4.14.1 and later · before 4.14.291
  • linux linux kernel4.15 and later · before 4.19.256
  • linux linux kernel4.20 and later · before 5.4.211
  • linux linux kernel5.5 and later · before 5.10.138
  • linux linux kernel5.11 and later · before 5.15.63
  • linux linux kernel5.16 and later · before 5.19.4
  • linux linux kernel4.14

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (Linux). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Linux Linux

    • 4.14affected
    • 2ea3ffb7782a84da33a8382f13ebd016da50079b and later · before d53194707d2a1851be027cd74266b96ceff799d3affected · git
    • 2ea3ffb7782a84da33a8382f13ebd016da50079b and later · before f4d5c7796571624e3f380b447ada52834270a287affected · git
    • 2ea3ffb7782a84da33a8382f13ebd016da50079b and later · before ef6fb6f0d0d8440595b45a7e53c6162c737177f4affected · git
    • 2ea3ffb7782a84da33a8382f13ebd016da50079b and later · before 2ceeb3296e9dde1d5772348046affcefdea605e2affected · git
    • 2ea3ffb7782a84da33a8382f13ebd016da50079b and later · before 64103ea357734b82384c925cba4758fdb909be0caffected · git
    • 2ea3ffb7782a84da33a8382f13ebd016da50079b and later · before 3ca40ad7afae144169a43988ef1a3f16182faf0aaffected · git
    • 2ea3ffb7782a84da33a8382f13ebd016da50079b and later · before 11c3627ec6b56c1525013f336f41b79a983b4d46affected · git
    • before 4.14not affected · semver
    • 4.14.291 and later · up to and including 4.14.*not affected · semver

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12linuxbefore 6.0.2-16.0.2-1

Same product

linux: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-31431crypto: algif_aead - Revert to operating out-of-placeKEV
    90Now
  • CVE-2022-0847A flaw was found in the way the "flags" member of the new pipe buffer structure was lacking proper initialization in copy_page_to_iter_pipe KEV
    89Now
  • CVE-2021-22555Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACEKEV
    85Now

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2022-50074Jun 18, 2025 · apparmor: Fix memleak in aa_simple_write_to_buffer()
    22Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2022-50075Jun 18, 2025 · tracing/eprobes: Have event probes be consistent with kprobes and uprobes
    22Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2022-50078Jun 18, 2025 · tracing/eprobes: Do not allow eprobes to use $stack, or % for regs
    22Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Linux Linux11c3627ec6b56c1525013f336f41b79a983b4d46Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linux2ceeb3296e9dde1d5772348046affcefdea605e2Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linux3ca40ad7afae144169a43988ef1a3f16182faf0aVendor (CNA)
Linux Linux64103ea357734b82384c925cba4758fdb909be0cVendor (CNA)
Linux Linuxd53194707d2a1851be027cd74266b96ceff799d3Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linuxef6fb6f0d0d8440595b45a7e53c6162c737177f4Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linuxf4d5c7796571624e3f380b447ada52834270a287Vendor (CNA)
debian:linux6.0.2-1 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
none
Integrity
none
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
None
Integrity impact
None
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

—

CVSS vector

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

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Show all references (6 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records