Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ARC: mm: fix leakage of...
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ARC: mm: fix leakage of memory allocated for PTE
Since commit d9820ff ("ARC: mm: switch pgtable_t back to struct page *")
a memory leakage problem occurs. Memory allocated for page table entries
not released during process termination. This issue can be reproduced by
a small program that allocates a large amount of memory. After several
runs, you'll see that the amount of free memory has reduced and will
continue to reduce after each run. All ARC CPUs are effected by this
issue. The issue was introduced since the kernel stable release v5.15-rc1.
As described in commit d9820ff after switch pgtable_t back to struct
page *, a pointer to "struct page" and appropriate functions are used to
allocate and free a memory page for PTEs, but the pmd_pgtable macro hasn't
changed and returns the direct virtual address from the PMD (PGD) entry.
Than this address used as a parameter in the __pte_free() and as a result
this function couldn't release memory page allocated for PTEs.
Fix this issue by changing the pmd_pgtable macro and returning pointer to
struct page.
Impact
CVE-2022-50446 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). The vector is requires local access, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. No fixed version is listed yet, so configuration controls and monitoring matter more in the interim.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2022-50446? CVE-2022-50446 is a medium-severity security vulnerability. No fixed version is listed yet.
- How severe is CVE-2022-50446? CVE-2022-50446 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2022-50446? No fixed version is listed for CVE-2022-50446 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is CVE-2022-50446 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2022-50446 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2022-50446 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.